24.

Phillips sat up in his bed, watching Tom warily. Finally, after a long moment, he let out a long torrent of laughter which echoed in the room, waking the other ghouls from their own slumber. They began to stir and look over to see what was going on.

Finally, after he'd finished laughing, Roy said, "Well you're doing a pretty piss-poor job of it! You thought you'd walk in and announce your presence and then everything would be smooth sailing? You came to the wrong den, smoothskin."

Roy stood up and started to approach, joined by several other ghouls, all of them looking anxious to break the tension.

Finally Tom spoke again, "I said I was sent to kill you, I didn't say I was going to kill you. I'm here as an ally."

This made Roy pause, "And what incentive can a manicured smoothskin like yourself give me to cooperate with you in any way?"

"You want to get into Tenpenny Tower and I want Burke and Tenpenny killed. I can't just walk in and kill them, I'd never get out alive; but if I help you get in and start a siege I'll have a chance to kill them both. We have mutual interests, Roy."

"Maybe," Roy muttered, "But why are you so interested in them?"
"They're trying to destroy a town called Megaton, where it just so happens I live. Burke also has a contract out on me and I figure his death will revoke it."

"Why'd he put the contract on you?"
"I shot him."
Roy chuckled, "You really do have some balls on you." He held out his hand.

Tom shook it, saying, "In the spirit of full disclosure I think I should tell you that I… shot… a few of your, uh, feral brethren."

"Don't worry about it; I got no compassion left for those mindless freaks. But they were a nice deterrent keeping out smoothskin bastards like yourself."

The crowd of ghouls began to dissipate and go back to bed, except for the woman whom had been with Roy. She stayed by his side.

"We've got some planning to do then," Roy said, "Let's have a good old fashioned talk in the war room."

The war room turned out to be a small, bare office with a mouldy looking pool table in the middle, surrounded by chairs.

Michael left to get Tom's pack and guns and the woman introduced herself to him as Bessie Lynn.

When Michael returned Roy started talking, "Did you get to scope most of the place out when you were there, kid?"
Tom shook his head, "I was being pretty carefully watched the whole time and I don't want to go back unless I've got something to give them. Tenpenny wants your head as proof.

Roy grinned, "That's easier to arrange than you'd think. Well lucky for us Michael knows the place; used to vacation there, pre-war."

Tom looked over to Michael, "Is there a back way in?"
Michael nodded, "There is a sort of escape passage that leads from the basement into these tunnels. You can open it from the generator room, but I assume they would keep it under lock and key."
"That security asshole probably has the key," Phillips muttered, "Get it off him and we'll be fine."

Tom nodded, "I'll find a way. So once I open that door, what happens?"
Phillips grinned wickedly, "We let our 'feral brethren' go first and tear up as much as they can and then we back them up with guns and knives."
"What if they decide that I look tasty?"
"There are ways around that. The biggest question is how do you think you're going to kill two of the most powerful men in the wasteland at once?"

"I've got time to arrange for something, but let me worry about that."
"You're not too bad with planning, smoothskin," Roy muttered, "How long have you been thinking about all this?"
Tom smiled, "I'm pretty much making it up as I go along. I need to leave tonight, while it's dark. I'll be gone a couple of days, but when I get back I need your head."
Roy nodded, "I've got some ideas."

Tom left that night, under the cover of darkness, skirting wide around Tenpenny Tower. This time he didn't wander forward, but powered. There was little time to waste. He no longer stopped the moment the sun went down, instead waiting until his limbs refused to carry him any further. Within two days he was back in Megaton and speaking with Simms.

"You look haggard, kid," he chuckled, "You've been doing some work."
"I have," Tom said, "and now I need your help."

Tom explained his full plan to Simms, everything he had told Roy and everything he hadn't.

When he'd finished he waited for Simms to respond.

After a long moment he said, "That's a big plan with a lot of holes."
"Apparently that's my style," Tom said, "Can you do it?"

Simms nodded, "I've got some friends north-east of here I can get to come down and hold the fort. How much time have I got to get where you need me to be?"

"Six days at the most, I could maybe push it to seven, but after that Roy will start getting antsy."

Simms let out a low whistle, "That's gonna be one hell of a push. Luckily you're talking to a man who's been doing this a long time."

"You can do it then?"

Simms nodded and clapped Tom on the shoulder, "I think we've got a hell of a week in front of us. I'll send word for my friends now. You get yourself some supplies and get to where you need to be."

Tom nodded and after making a quick trip around to the Brass Lantern, Craterside and his house, to get water from Wadsworth, he set out again with the same speed with which he had arrived.

By the time Tom arrived back at the Warrington tunnels he was seriously fatigued. Roy told him to rest before talking tactics because he would be 'a useless lump of shit' in the state he was in. Tom didn't argue much and fell asleep on one of the spare beds.

When he woke the next day (the clock on his Pip-Boy confirmed that he'd slept for almost ten hours) he was starving and parched and wasted no time in draining half a bottle of water and wolfing down an iguana stick. He'd grown very use to the texture and taste of the barbecued lizard, and was almost starting to enjoy it.

He and Roy sat down and he explained that the arrangements had been made and that now all there was to do was wait a few days before going back to Tenpenny. He needed to give Simms as much time as he could. He'd listen for the signal in two days.

Roy left the room to get something. When he returned he dropped something heavy on the table. For a moment Tom couldn't quite see what he was and when he did he fought the wild urge to throw himself away from the table.

There, mouth agape, was the rotting (and Tom suspected slightly chewed) head of what had once been a red headed man.

"After you left I went out and found a raider with the same kind of look. Cut his head off and left it in the sun a while; some wildlife got to it, took some of the skin, the nose. Then after I let the ferals play with it a little. I think it'll serve its purpose."

Tom nodded, staring at the thing, "It's certainly convincing."
Roy laughed, "When do we get in?"

"Start posting someone outside every day. When you hear four gun shots coming from the Robco building," Tom tapped his knuckles on the table once, then twice fast, and then once again, "in that pattern it'll be time. You'll hear it in the morning, which means we move that night."

"How long might it take for this signal to come?"

"It could be a few days, but it's important that we do wait for it."

Roy reluctantly agreed and handed Tom the head, which he gingerly slipped into a bag. He shook hands with Roy, Michael and Bessie before leaving, saying "I'll see you soon."

Tom pressed the buzzer on the speaker and Gustavo's voice answered through it, "Business and tenants only."

"Gustavo, it's Tom Williams. I've got business with Burke and Tenpenny."

The gate immediately opened and Tom stepped in, giving Gustavo a courteous nod. Gustavo told him the password and Tom thanked him, heading into the building.

He quoted the password to the receptionist, whom eyed the foul smelling sack in Tom's hand, but, nonetheless, let Tom through into the elevator.

Burke was, once again, waiting for Tom when the elevator doors slid open, "The vault dweller returns," he said with a smile, "Am I to assume the contents of that sack are a gift for Mr. Tenpenny."

Tom nodded, "Not easy to get. I think he'll like it."

Burke led Tom through to the balcony, where Tenpenny sat with a cup of tea in his hands. When he saw Tom he beamed, "Well now, it seems the boy has made good on his promise. Burke would you please bring out the contents of the sack?"

Tom handed the sack over and Burke reached in. He pulled the severed and mutilated head out by the few strands of red hair still left.

Tenpenny's eyes gleamed as he stared at what he thought was Roy Phillips' head, "It feels splendid having that thorn pulled from my side. And how many were there in those tunnels?"
"Some ferals and about twelve others," Tom said, "Their guard stopped me, but I was able to overpower him. They were asleep when I finally found them all. I won't bore you with the rest of the details."

Tenpenny stood and offered his hand, "I think we can consider this a job well done, don't you, Mr. Burke."

"He's certainly come good on his part of the deal."

"And I am a man of my word," Tenpenny said as Tom shook his hand, "Consider yourself an employee and resident of Tenpenny Tower, Mr. Williams."

And that is who I would be, Tom thought to himself as he shook the wrinkled, cold hand, I would be Mr. Williams if I were to choose this life. Like Mr. Burke and Mr. Tenpenny; a formal name for a formal monster.

"Burke would you please arrange for Mr. Williams to be given the key to the other suite," Tenpenny said.

Burke nodded and left.

Tom thanked Tenpenny graciously and spent the rest of midday with him and Burke, when he returned and handed him his key, listening to them discuss possible ways of launching 'Roy's' head into the air in order for Tenpenny to practice his skeet shooting.

Tom spent the next few days either in the café, where, he learned, Gustavo always got his coffee before the night watch, or outside, listening out for the signal. He would spend the nights sleeping in a chair in his suite, with its clean water and expensive sheets. He never slept in the bed, rarely ever touched it.

Three days after handing the head over to Tenpenny Tom heard the four shots, in the right pattern, echoing over from the Robco building: they would move that night.