The warmth of a body lying beside her was something that Wolf had missed terribly in the last year or so. She opened her eyes to take in the sight of Rachel with a small, contented smile on her face, as the pale woman slept beside her. Wolf looked down to her sternum where one of Rachel's hands rested. She ran the tip of one finger along the back of her hand, tracing the metacarpals.
The last week had passed in peaks and valleys for Wolf; physically and emotionally. The pair of Rangers had been broken up and paired with different groups in Command for mapping runs. Oddly enough, Wolf's team hadn't encountered a single Mutie while Rachel's had encountered half a dozen. Wolf was a little jealous that Rachel had gotten the extra bounty money they were paid with proof of a super mutant kill. At night, Wolf and Rachel had the barracks to themselves and spent a lot of the time just talking about their lives prior to the Rangers. Wolf hadn't talked to anyone about it since parting ways with Janice in Rivet City. She had never thought Rachel would be the one she unburdened herself to but that's exactly what had happened. Rachel had also shared and the details of her life were astonishing to Wolf. It certainly explained a lot about her attitude and proficiency at combat.
Then, not to be overlooked, was the fact that the two had mind-blowing sex almost every night. Wolf had only ever fooled around with another girl a few months before she got married at 16 and it had been nothing like what she experienced with Rachel. Sometimes, her vision dimmed and she thought she would actually pass out from the strength of her orgasms. Rachel had also been pleased that Wolf was a screamer and that her mouth got progressively filthier the longer things went on. For her part, Wolf had learned that Rachel could be very vocal but when it was particularly intense, the woman's mouth transitioned between painful grimace and ecstasy as she went over the edge.
I don't want to stop but I have to. Fuck.
Wolf's pondering was interrupted by a snort of disgust from the entrance to the barracks. She raised her head to see Brick's shadowed form standing in the doorway.
"You two make me fucking sick with this lovey-dovey crap! Ugh, you're worse than Syd and Nate. 'Oh, I love you! Let's snuggle!' Fucking stupid, if you ask me." Brick snorted again and shook her head. "Nathan wanted me to remind you that you should leave in a couple of hours if you want to make Underworld by dawn."
Brick quickly took her leave and Wolf chuckled quietly.
"God, what a bitch. What the fuck's her problem?" Rachel grumbled irritably as she slowly opened her eyes.
"Maybe she needs to get laid?" Wolf suggested, smiling at Rachel's innocent, semiconscious visage.
"That ain't it, according to Sydney. Supposedly, she fucks the brains out of the heavy weapons guy on Alpha every chance she gets and Alpha's back here at least once every week and a half for a couple of days."
"Maybe she's just like that." Wolf's smile widened as Rachel slid closer until their faces were barely an inch from each others.
"Hey." Rachel said with a tiny smile just before she bit her lip timidly.
Wolf didn't know if Rachel was disarming like that on purpose because she knew Wolf would have reacted badly to her usual hyperaggression or if something about the situation did actually make the normally fearless Ranger nervous. Rachel was definitely clever enough to do the former but something told Wolf it was the latter.
Maybe she's in love with me? No, that's stupid. But, I do think I love all of my quad. That's weird. When did that happen? That doesn't matter. You can't go around fucking your quad. It'll just fuck things up; Lee's right. Wolf concentrated on pressing her lips to Rachel's to derail thoughts of Lee and Evelyn.
Rachel's hands went to her breasts and began fondling them with surprising skill after so few days of experience. It quietly amused Wolf how preoccupied the pale Ranger seemed to be with her breasts. She had noticed that most of the women out here had smaller busts than she did. The medic in her said it probably had a lot to do with childhood malnutrition than anything else. Women of the Capital Waste also seemed to tend towards having almost boyishly slender builds. They were a far cry from the sort of curvy women Wolf grew up with in the mountains of her former home.
Wolf found her own hands reaching to Rachel's taut, muscled bottom and had to force herself to stop. They had to stop eventually and now was as good a time as any. She pulled back and looked into Rachel's obsidian eyes before lowering her own.
Just do it.
Before she could say a word, Rachel beat her to it, "We have to stop. That's what you want to say." Wolf sighed deeply before nodding. "I knew it was coming. I figured you thought like Lee about it. I think we could make it work."
"Maybe one day, but I think it's too early now."
Rachel's smile slowly disappeared and the faintest hint of the vulnerable Rachel that Wolf had come to see slipped through the tough exterior. "But you had fun, right?"
"Yes." And just like that the smile reappeared even if it was a little dimmer than before.
Fuck yes.
"Damnit!" Wolf wheezed as she slowly made her way up the Metro steps to the front of the museum Underworld was located in. "You'd better hope to God that Gob doesn't have a lot of stuff or you're leaving some of this shit!"
Wolf, in addition to the spare medical supplies she had scrounged from HQ, was carrying Rachel's duffel bag full of ammo for her newly acquired missile launcher. The bag must have weighed thirty pounds and it was all dead weight on her back. Rachel was even more heavily burdened with a bandoleer of half a dozen missiles across her chest and the missile launcher in two parts across her back. The duo were a Raider's wet dream and not just because they were attractive young women. They carried enough gear between them to outfit three times their number or feed a small group for months if they sold it all at a fair price. It had made Wolf nervous but they had encountered little beyond a lone feral ghoul that Rachel had put out of its misery. The most dangerous thing that had happened was Wolf stepping in a gargantuan pile of mole-rat shit.
"And people say I'm the one that bitches all the time?" Rachel teased as they reached the top of the stairs.
Willow was on watch and greeted them cheerfully as they passed her. Cerberus was his usual self and directed them to The Bar when they asked where Gob was. Wolf was surprised at the reception that received upon this visit to Underworld. Many of the ghouls, most of who she had never talked to, greeted both Rangers by name with jaunty waves. It seemed that returning a wayward son went a long way to repairing the initial damage from their first trip to Underworld. Wolf supposed she couldn't blame the ghouls. All three of the women in Echo had certainly been making subtle faces at Lee's familiarity with the ghouls.
Wolf suppressed a groan as they ascended the stairs to the left of the entrance. She really hoped that Gob would be willing to haul some of the ordinance that Rachel just had to have. Rachel held the door for her as they entered The Bar and discovered Gob behind the bar demonstrating how to mix a drink of some sort.
"Remember, ghoul taste-buds are for shit so you don't have to put anything in it to try to cut the taste. Humans like to cut their booze wit' fruit-nut or mutfruit juice but ghouls can take it straight up. The higher the alcohol content, the better. Our livers work better than humans, I guess, cause it takes a lot to get one of us drunk." Gob looked up and nodded to them in greeting. "Alright, Percy, time for me ta go. I'll see about getting you some shipments of booze when I get back to Megaton. Maybe work something out with the boys in Rivet since they're closer."
Percy, a heavy-set ghoul wearing overalls, nodded quickly. "Thanks, Gob. I was startin' to get a little worried about what we were gonna do when the booze ran out." Then Percy got a look at the Rangers waiting for him and whistled. "You freakin' stud! How many girls you taking with you!"
Gob laughed easily and clapped Percy on the shoulder. "It ain't like that, Perc. Take it easy."
"Yeah, you too."
Gob walked around the bar and Wolf was glad to see that he seemed ready for travel. He didn't have his weapons on him except for his machete-sword and custom magnum revolver but he was armored. The ghoul let out a low whistle as he set his sights on the new weaponry the pair was hauling.
"I guess it's a lucky thing I hired Venus." He grinned and shook his head.
"Who?" Wolf asked and turned to follow Gob's outstretched arm.
A silent figure stepped out of the shadows and Wolf had to restrain the urge to jump at being caught so unaware. It was a ghoul, a woman judging from the swell of her hips even in the worn leather armor she wore, and she was nearly as tall as Rachel. She had wide, almost masculine shoulders, and seemed thicker than Wolf's fellow Ranger. A black bandana made her face hard to see but the eyepatch with a bright purple bulls-eye painted on it seemed to glare malevolently out of the dark. If it wasn't for the outrageous color, it would have been very intimidating. Rachel, of course, reacted in her usual fashion.
"Fuck!" She exclaimed and hopped back melodramatically. "Damn, Gob! You got yourself another Charon? Does she talk or is she mute like him and just stands around being creepy as shit?"
The ghoul in question stepped further into the light and Wolf was instantly fascinated. Her skin was still there, gray and leathery, but she still had it all. In the dim light, she could almost pass for human until you got close enough to see the cloudy quality of her eyes.
"Oh, shit." Gob muttered and seemed about to say more when the previously silent ghoul beat him to the punch.
"Yeah, I can fucking talk, you stupid cunt!" Her voice was undamaged, girlish, and very out of place with her general appearance. "Maybe I just like to get the lay before I open my fucking cock-trap and make a goddamned fool of myself! Maybe I should smash your fucking face in and teach you not to be such a lippy fucking whore! That sound good?"
Wolf sighed and could feel Rachel bristling beside her as the Ranger's temper flared.
"You wanna go, you big bitch? Let's fucking go." Wolf turned to find Rachel slipping the missile launcher off her back. "I eat cunts like you for breakfast! Don't you know who the fuck I am?"
Wolf bit her lip against the sudden urge to giggle that came over her.
"I don't give a shit, you pasty fuck! I haven't had a chance to beat anyone's ass in weeks! I'm gonna enjoy this!"
Venus held up an arm and Wolf tilted her head to read the brilliant pink letters emblazoned on her forearm guard. 'Baddest Bitch', was what it said, and Wolf had to restrain the urge to laugh again. That urge was quickly killed when Venus squeezed her hand into a fist and the muscles beneath the guard caused it to flex outward.
"Alright, Rach, calm down. We've got a long walk ahead of us." Wolf laid a restraining hand on Rachel's forearm and shook her head.
"Yeah, Venus." Gob clapped her on the shoulderpad and the woman barely moved. "I told you how Rachel is."
"Yeah, but I never thought anybody could be that big of a bitch and still be alive."
Rachel spluttered. "Me! What about you, whore?"
Gob and Wolf turned to each other as they simultaneously rolled their eyes. It took a few moments of quiet prodding and shushing before the quartet left The Bar. Venus led the way and Rachel was at the back of the line. Wolf was bemused by the sight of the broad-shouldered Venus strutting around like a cat with its back up.
How long has it been since I've even seen a cat?
Wolf didn't have long to follow that depressing train of thought as they entered Carol's place by the guest beds. Venus and Gob retrieved their equipment from a padlocked locker. Venus put on a shoulder sheathe for a combat knife over a harness for grenades before securing her backpack. She lovingly slid a hand down the long barrel of a sniper rifle before slinging the hefty weapon over her left shoulder. Wolf had noticed the empty holster at the ghoul woman's waist and raised her eyebrows as Venus placed a laser pistol inside it. Finally an equipment belt, bulging with spare magazines, cartridges and who knew what else, went around her waist. Gob waited patiently for Venus to finish before heading towards the front desk.
The farewell wasn't as long or as emotional as Gob's greeting. Wolf supposed all of the theatrics had occurred before they arrived. Carol hugged Gob close, whispered something to him, and then told his three female companions to watch out for him. Rachel snorted and Venus rolled her eyes but Wolf had solemnly promised to do just that. In fact, the walk to the exterior of the museum took longer than the goodbye. It seemed as though everyone wanted to wish Gob luck or give him a hug. To Wolf's bemusement, Rachel and Venus both seemed to bristle at the delay. Once they were outside, Venus raised her hands and sighed loudly.
"Fuck. No one ever told me everyone in Underworld was a fuckin' sap. Jesus, I thought that one girl was going to offer to suck your fuckin' dick off before we left, G."
Rachel coughed to cover up the chuckle that had obviously threatened to escape from her. "What route do you wanna take, Wolf? We could go detour around that ambush or we could bag us some Muties. Your choice."
Wolf shook her head. "Not really. Gob, what do you want to do?"
"That route needs ta be safe. We're gonna take 'em."
The super mutants that had taken up residence along the route to Underworld had fortified the entrance and exit to the substation with concrete barriers and barbed wire. A pair of sentries, unarmored and armed with melee weapons, argued loudly over who would eat the last piece of human liver that was left. The larger, older one clouted its smaller comrade on the side of the head and laughed as it roared in outrage. That roar was lost beneath the harsh report of a .308 round being discharged. Before the sound has registered, the bullet had shattered a path through the super mutant's nasal cavity and into its brain. It toppled to the floor in a heap of twitching limbs, resisting death, and its companion shouted a warning.
"Sneaky humans!"
It made a mad dash for the source of the muzzle flash that was lost in the darkness of the far end of the tunnel. Before more than a dozen feet had been left behind it, the super mutant was felled by a shot through the throat that severed the windpipe. It fell to the floor, mouth agape as it held a hand to the hole in its body, and writhed in agony. A round object came rolling out of the dim corridor and, defying all odds of probability, bounced directly into the open maw of the injured super mutant. It had a single moment to comprehend what had just happened to it before the grenade detonated in a shower of fire and gore.
"Die, humans!" The leader of the small group came charging out of the doorway to the substation with an appropriated mini-gun in its hands.
The ominous whir of the weapons barrels spinning filled the area seconds before a hail of 5mm rounds sailed downrange. Insane laughter rumbled from the super mutant's chest as he ran at a full-sprint down the tunnel; confident in the protection that its makeshift helmet and chestplate offered. Only the monster's prodigious strength allowed him to keep the weapon level at the furious pace it was setting. There was no return fire even when the mini-gun stopped to cool down. A mind less clouded by the haze of berserker rage might have stopped and proceeded a bit more cautiously but the super mutant was not one of those minds. A barely audible metallic 'clink' was its only warning before a pair of grenades detonated on either side of the crazed mutant. The blasts were not enough to outright kill the behemoth but they did cause it to stumble and fall a few feet away covered in dozens of shrapnel wounds. The tumble had knocked over a loose pile of stones beneath the bleeding super mutant and its eyes widened at what had been revealed.
A pair of grenades had rolled free directly beneath its crotch.
The super mutant roared in fury just before the grenades exploded and lifted its limp body several feet off the ground. Amazingly, it was still conscious and feebly twitching despite loops of slimy, gray-green intestine splayed across the ruins of its hips. Malevolent red eyes glared at the figures approaching it from the shadows. One of them pointed a shiny object at its head.
"You've got a fucking missile launcher, bitch. I got dibs on the minigun."
Those were the last words that this particular super mutant ever heard.
Wolf had hoped that the rest of the trip would be smooth sailing since it had gone so well thus far. There hadn't been much in terms of food or ammo left behind by the super mutants. Hell, there hadn't been much left of the Raiders. Venus had acquired the damaged and currently not working minigun for her own despite Rachel's protests. Besides that, there had been nothing worth salvaging except fingers so the Ranger women could collect their bonus later. Still, Wolf had felt good about what they had done. Their small group had kept the way clear for trade and honest folk just like Nathan had promised when she had signed up.
That good feeling had lasted right up until they were approaching the SuperDuper Mart. Rachel had gone ahead to scout the way after passing her missile launcher to Gob. She seemed obsessed with proving to Wolf that Lee had taught her something useful, and returned quickly with a struggling man being dragged behind her. She tossed him down and knelt to undo the impromptu gag.
"You scream and I'll cut your fucking tongue out. Understand?" Rachel asked the man in black mercenary leathers.
The man nodded quickly and his bright blue eyes widened with pain as Rachel wrapped a hand around his throat.
"For insurance," she told him and undid the cloth gag. "This fucker was watching for us but he did a piss-poor job of it obviously. I recognize that patch." She pointed to a dirty green-gold patch on his shirt with some kind of bird on it. "He's one of Lane's boys and they only provide muscle for drug dealers and runners. So, fucker, why were you watching the trail?"
"How do you know I was watching for you?" He croaked around the grip Rachel had on his throat. "I might just be a Raider."
Rachel laughed mirthlessly. "Not with that gear. And Gob's the only reason you'd be out here protecting one of your bosses. Now... how many of you are there and what does your boss want?"
"He just wants to talk, alright! There's six of us, plus the boss."
Rachel narrowed her eyes and then replaced the gag. She checked how secure his restraints were before gesturing for the others to follow her so they could talk in private.
"Do you know what this is about, Gob?" Wolf asked immediately.
"Best I can think, someone didn't take kindly to me not being a gateway for their drugs to get into this part of the Waste. The liquor I can deal with but I told them I didn't want to have anything more to do with jet and psycho. I know they supply a lot of the slavers and Raiders with it and get slaves from them for it."
"Okay." Wolf thought for a moment before nodding. "We could talk to them or go around them. It's your choice, Gob, but you'll have to deal with it someday."
Gob did not hesitate, "I'm going to talk to them."
"All right." Wolf rubbed her gloved hands together. "They don't know about Venus since we didn't leave with her. I want you to tail us and find a good sniping spot to cover us from. If it goes bad, you take out whoever looks like they have the biggest gun. The rest of us will go with that asshole. I want safeties off, holsters unfastened and everyone focused, okay?"
Venus looked at the other two as they agreed and assumed it was because she had yet to see Wolf be so assertive.
"One more thing." Rachel spoke up. "I know that type of asshole. That outfit might be twice that number."
"We can take them." Wolf grinned in a manner attributed to her namesake. "Let's do it."
Wolf, Gob and Rachel went back to the mercenary after readying themselves while Venus hid in order to trail them. Wolf undid the man's binds gently and helped him to his feet.
"Sorry about that, buddy." Wolf patted him on the shoulder. "We've just had a long, rough trip. You know how it goes. Can't be too careful. Why don't you lead us to your boss and we can get this all sorted out."
"Okay, good. Can I get my gun back now?" He held out a hand to Rachel and the pale Ranger begrudgingly handed him a 10mm pistol.
Wolf wasn't surprised when he led them to the Mart. It was an ideal location to hole up to watch the route to Megaton and they had probably been camped out for at least half a week. She knew that Venus would be able to find a spot with a wide view of the front lot. Their prisoner loudly greeted a sentry that had been posted on the roof and received a wave in return. He jumped up and down on the roof before shouting something that Wolf couldn't make out. Wolf and company stopped thirty feet from the entrance to wait while the man went inside. Each of them placed their heavy packs on the ground without a word being spoken as they waited. They didn't have to wait long before ten men boiled out of the Mart. Each was armed and looked meaner than hell. Even their former prisoner held his siderarm on them with a contemptuous sneer on his face. Wolf looked down the line facing off against them and was a little disappointed by the arms she saw. There was one assault rifle and one guy with a flamethrower but the rest of them were armed with shotguns and 10mm pistols.
Venus will definitely take out the flamer first. Wolf made the mental note and eliminated him as a target.
Two final people emerged from the interior of the Mart. One of them was a big merc that carried a chair while the other was a portly man in a pre-War three-piece suit that was surprisingly clean. The merc set the chair down and stood to the side as the shorter, wider man lowered himself into it.
"Bring him here, Lane." The man ordered the big merc with a beard that would have done Sheriff Simms proud.
Wolf noted that Lane had a power fist on his left hand and it was coated in dried blood. He sauntered over to Gob, who he bettered in height by a head, and placed his meaty right hand on the ghoul's shoulder.
"The boss wants you." Lane said in the stereotypical deep voice of the hired muscle.
Gob let himself be led to stand a few feet in front of 'The Boss'. None of the mercenaries had their weapons trained on Gob, despite the fact that he was better armed than most of them, and Wolf assumed it was because his reputation as an easy mark was well-known among Moriarty's former business partners.
"Name's Mahoney, zombie." Mahoney said as he lit a cigarette with a pre-War lighter. He took a contemplative puff and sighed. "And you've been causing me a wee bit o' consternation, ya see. I hear tell that you're in with Simms better than 'Arty ever could dreamed but you won't play ball. I'm not asking you to sell the shit. Just let us pack it in with your supply of booze and you hand it off to our couriers. You get a ten percent cut o' the profits and that ain't no chump change. So, tell me, why'd you tell my boy to go fuck himself when he made the first offer."
"Unless you want ta find a new leader for your muscle, I suggest you tell 'em ta get that hand off my shoulder." Mahoney gestured and Lane released Gob with a bit of a push. "I told 'em to go fuck himself 'cause I know you supply those fucking slavers and Raiders and you get paid in flesh sometimes. I've seen some of the girls Moriarty's brought into tha Common House and I've seen 'em disappear just as fast. I'll buy your booze and I won't say nothin' to Simms. I ain't a rat. But I ain't gonna be a party to that shit."
Mahoney sighed and shook his head. "You know, I thought you'd be smarter than that, zombie. I guess 'Arty just couldn't beat no sense into that fucking rotten brain of yours. Lane, show this little shit the folly of not playing ball."
"I'm gonna enjoy this. Ain't had a ghoul yet." Lane said and slapped a hand down onto Gob's shoulder.
It happened so fast that Wolf would later swear the two ghouls had some kind of psychic connection. Gob drew his machete-sword from its sheathe as he ducked beneath Lane's arm. The ghoul performed some kind of twisting maneuver that sent Lane's body careening through the air towards the assault rifle wielding man on the right while his head popped straight up. There was a harsh crack in the air just as Lane's body left the ground and the flamer-wielding merc slumped to the side as though his strings had been cut. Unfortunately for the man on his left, he triggered a brief burst from his weapon that utterly engulfed his fellow mercenary. The human torch ran screaming towards the river but Wolf knew he would never make it.
Wolf drew her sidearm, unwilling to risk hitting Gob with wild sprays of her submachinegun, and went to one knee. Rachel did the same to her right. Venus' rifle cracked again and again as Wolf aimed at a panicking mercenaries chest and pulled the trigger twice. He was blown off his feet and began trying to scream through the blood filling his lungs. Rachel's assault rifle fired in several quick bursts and then she flopped onto her back. The air was too full of shouts and gunshots but Wolf knew she had been hit. She identified the culprit and was already bringing her sidearm to bear as their former prisoner began to turn to her. Wolf fired into his lower abdomen, not wanting to waste the time to place that first round higher on his torso, and walked several subsequent shots up his body. The final one hit him in the neck as his legs finally gave out on him.
Wolf scrambled over to Rachel's body on her hands and knees as Gob shot the last mercenary standing with his 10mm pistol. She frantically checked Rachel's body for blood or a visible entry would and could find only a single hole in the center of her chest. She reached in and breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the flattened bullet that Rachel's heavy body armor had stopped.
"Shit. I think I broke my back falling like that." Rachel groaned. "Good thing Lane was cheap and used black powder for their bullets." At Wolf's blank look, Rachel grinned and gestured to the massive amounts of gunsmoke being slowly broken apart by a lackluster breeze. "Lower penetration power, they leave a bunch of smoke, and they'll gum your barrel up after awhile. Wow. Look at that."
Wolf turned at Rachel's nod and her eyes widened at the site of Gob holding Mahoney up by his neck with a single hand. Gob was usually so affable and nonthreatening that it was easy to forget he was easily three times as strong as a human of similar size and build.
"What? You're gonna kill me?" Mahoney sneered. "You don't have the fucking balls, you fucking zombie!"
Gob cocked his head to the side, placed the barrel of his 10mm against Mahoney's sternum, and pulled the trigger three times. Mahoney slumped in Gob's grip and the ghoul simply tossed him aside. Wolf helped Rachel to her feet as Venus came jogging up with her sniper rifle at a ready position. She stopped and let out a low whistle at the carnage the four of them had wrought.
"Dibs on the flamer." Venus called out.
"Fuck that! You got the mini-gun!" Rachel argued, getting right up into the ghoul's face.
"Hey! Who shot that fucker before he could fry your stupid ass? Yeah, that's right, it was me!"
"I was the fucking bait! That's called hazard pay, dumbass!"
"Fine. We'll Rock-Paper-Scissors for it."
"What the fuck is that?"
Gob and Wolf's unrestrained laughter temporarily broke the back-and-forth as both turned with the same question.
"What's so fucking funny?"