Modus Operandi 28

Sarah knocked quietly on her father's door. Her recon armour felt stiff and unfamiliar, but she wore it anyway. It had been many years since she'd last donned the outfit.

"Come in."

She stepped inside and saluted. "Sentinel Lyons reporting, sir. I request an audience."

Her father sighed, "Sarah, I know why you're acting official, and I can see right through it, so you might as well stop. We are not going to act right away. Be patient."

"I'm merely requesting leave to visit megaton." she said stiffly, maintaining the salute, "The ordeal in the Pitt left me incapable of operating at my full capacity. I need some time to put it behind me.

Her father smiled slightly despite himself, "Denied. You'll have to wait until this emergency has been dealt with."

Sarah took a deep breath. She'd spent the entire night thinking it over, and she had come to one conclusion: If playing hardball worked for Jason… "This is a courtesy call, dad. I'm going."

Lyons thought for a moment, then said, "You are far too close to this emotionally, Sarah. Rothchild said the same thing to me when you were first captured and he was right. I was giving out nonsensical orders, and unable to keep things in perspective. I am not asking you to abandon him, I am merely asking you to wait until we have more information."

Ignoring his calls and protests, she silently turned on her heel and marched out. As she passed through the hallway, Glade fell into step with her. He was dressed in his power armour.

"Funny thing about the Brotherhood of Steel," he said conversationally as they turned a corner, "Is no matter what kind of idiotic thing you're going to do, you damned well never do it alone."

They crossed the courtyard to the front gate and were blocked by a silent figure in full power armour, carrying a sniper rifle.

"Hello Gallows." Glade said cheerfully. "How goes your night?"

The figure remained silent and motionless.

"Father ordered you to stop me from rescuing Jason, didn't he?" Sarah asked quietly.

The figure tilted its head.

"Well that's okay then," she said, "because we're just going to Megaton."

They stood eye to eye for a very long time. Eventually, with tectonic slowness, Gallows stepped aside. As Sarah and Glade passed the sniper, he fell in line behind them.


"Sooo…" Glade asked as they approached the high walls of Megaton, "How do you intend to break him out? By the way, Gallows, we lied."

The Sniper nodded silently; he had already known.

Glade continued, "I mean between the three of us, we have one sniper rifle, and one plasma rifle… and only two suits of armour."

"We're going to visit Jason's house." Sarah told him.

Megaton turned out to be much more secure than Sarah had expected. Next to Rivet City and the Citadel itself, Megaton was probably the most secure place in the capital wasteland. Doubly secure, since the Wanderer lived there.

The gates opened with the grinding screech of metal on metal.

The three soldiers stepped through the gates and looked around. Megaton had been built inside and over a giant crater, creating a giant tangle of catwalks which reminded Sarah of the Steelyard. The city was populated by dozens of people, all wandering from point to point. A small crowd had gathered in the bottom of the crater, surrounding the nuclear warhead which had created the hole in the first place. The Lone Wanderer had disarmed the thing in his first month out of the vault.

A black man in a leather duster and cowboy hat walked up to them, eyeing them with an apprehensive look. A sheriff's badge was pinned to his chest, He said, "It's been a long time since Brotherhood soldiers've been in here. What do you need?"

"I want to see the Lone Wanderer's house." Sarah told him.

The man narrowed his eyes, "He's not in right now. I'm not sure if you've been listening to Three-Dog, but he's in a little trouble. I just finished sending off a few people to help get him out."

"You sent people?" Glade asked.

"After all he's done for us?" the sheriff responded, "Of course."

"I wonder how many other settlements have sent people…" Sarah murmured.

"Most of them I should think." the man said.

"We're off to join them, but we need access to his armory." Sarah said, "I'm Sentinel Lyons. This is Paladin Glade and Knight-Captain Gallows."

"You do look like Brotherhood soldiers." the sheriff mused.

"Here's my dogtag to prove it." Sarah fished around the neckline of her recon armour and pulled out her tags.

The Sheriff examined them closely. "And why would someone from an organization as well-equipped as the Brotherhood of Steel need access to the Lone Wanderer's house?"

"To be honest, my father isn't too keen on a rescue attempt." Sarah told him, deciding that the truth was best, "So we're doing it without his approval-"

"-Which means no access to your armory. Alright… I'll take you there." he led them across the edge of the crater.

"So what are you hoping to find in there?" Glade asked as the four of them negotiated the steep ground to the nearest catwalk.

"Some power armour, and some really good weapons." Sarah told him. They reached the catwalk and the Sheriff knocked loudly on the door of the house. This resulted in a fair amount of barking.

"Who is there?" said a robotic voice from within. It had a heavy droll British accent.

"Sheriff Lucas Simms." the man announced, "I have some visitors with me. They need access to the Wanderer's armory." he turned back to the travelers, "You guys stand clear. If that dog sees you, he'll tear your throat out."

The door opened and Sarah had just enough time to register a furious grey blur bounding towards her before Lucas Simms caught the snarling dog by the collar and held it down, ordering it to calm down. The thing regarded Sarah and her companions with ferocious, bloodshot eyes. Its ears were flattened against the back of its head and it's many teeth were exposed as it growled. Sarah was reminded briefly of the deathclaw's fangs from all those weeks before.

"Dogmeat's bred to kill." the Sheriff said, crouching beside the dog, calming it. "You guys are damned lucky I stopped you. Get in there, take what you need, and get out."


Sarah stepped into the shack and closed the door behind her.

"Whoa!" Glade exclaimed.

Jason's house was a cramped, cozy two-story home. The largest room was packed with shelves and racks full of weapons. Ammunition was stacked in the corners along with rifles and pistols. A few miniguns had been pushed between a set of shelves. There were at least five examples of each weapon. Sarah could barely see the floor it was so cramped.

"Okay…" the Paladin commented, "now we know where he keeps his guns. But where does he live?"

"When he is home, the Master spends his time upstairs." the British voice spoke. A Mister Handy in pristine condition floated down the stairs, looking like a giant steel jellyfish, "That is where you will find his bedroom and living quarters."

"Does he have any power armour?" Sarah asked.

"There is a set of Lyons' Pride Power Armour, a set of T51-B Winterized Power Armour, A set of Enclave Hellfire Armour, A set of Chinese Recon Armour, in the cloak room upstairs." The robot directed mechanically.

Sarah turned to Gallows and Glade, "Get what we need." she ordered, making her way upstairs.

The robot followed her saying: "The master has never worn power armour. I am pleased it is finally getting some use."

She could hear Glade tromping around the floor below in his power armour, "This is insane!" he called, sorting through the piles of ammunition, "there's enough here to supply a small army!"

"Master Howlett has been wandering the wasteland continuously for three years. This is not his largest weapons stockpile," the robot told them, "nor is it the most extensive."

"Why would any one person collect so many weapons?" Glade demanded.

Upstairs, Sarah spotted a light coming from a small doorway off to her left. She entered it and beheld a sparse room. There was a set of drawers beside it and a desk. What struck her most was the distinct lack of decorations.

"Maybe they aren't for him." She heard Gallows respond. They were the first words the spec ops soldier had spoken since they'd left the citadel four hours before.

What struck her most about Jason's room was the lack of his presence in it. There were no posters, no pictures. Not a single sign of any kind of personalization. The mattress was soft and comfortable, though. It lacked the lumps which afflicted the citadel sleeping quarters.

A stack of recordings had been placed in the nook between the desk and the filing cabinet. Beside them was a small stereo.

"They're all in pristine condition." Glade observed over the clattering of assault rifles being moved, "What was he doing? What was he thinking?"

"I believe he eventually intended it for use by the city of Megaton, if needed. He has one underneath Rivet City as well as in Bigtown and Canterbury commons." The robot's tinny voice echoed through the cramped space.

She carefully picked up the first recording off the stack and slid it gently into the stereo. A calming, mellifluous voice filled the small building. Downstairs, both Glade and Gallows stopped to listen.

I spoke with Doctor Li, Madison, at Rivet City. It went about as well as I expected. That is to say she thinks I'm completely mad. How can I blame her? She's got her own life, her own team, and is making real tangible scientific progress. Here I come again, the very paragon of failure and false promises. But the reality is, I need Madison and whatever scientific team she may have assembled. I can't do this myself. Project Purity is bigger than me, it always was. And without Catherine... God, I can't let this die. Not again, not like this

This was greeted with the loudest silence Sarah had ever heard. This was James Howlett's voice. Jason's father.

"Sarah, just get on the power armour and let's go." Glade called.

Sarah ignored him. She ejected the first disc on the stack and inserted the next one. The stereo came to life with a crackle and Sarah heard a woman's voice; warm, enthusiastic, full of life and vitality.

That batch of tests was inconclusive, but Madison and I are convinced it's a problem with the second filtration system. We're going to recalibrate the equipment and try again tomorrow so that... James, please, I'm trying to work. Now's not the time! ...So that's the next step. Assuming we get the results we need, we'll move on to… James! Stop, I need to finish these notes!

The woman laughed, having successfully shooed away her aggressor.

...We'll move on to diagnosing the issues with the radiation dampener. That should... Owww! James! Now? We really shouldn't…

The recording broke off with the sound of the woman giggling, her work forgotten. After a minute or two, it timed out.

"Sarah!"

The Sentinel jumped. She turned to see Glade standing in the doorway with an angry look on his face. In the manner of a parent ordering his child into the tub, the Paladin pointed at the open door of the Wanderer's cloak room.

"I found a minigun." he said, "Gallows has his sniper rifle and as much ammo as he can carry. Get some armour and let's go!"

Sarah opted for Jason's set of Lyons' Pride Power Armour, feeling at home in it. She realized it was the first time she'd worn the armour since the mutants had taken her. It felt uncomfortable. She also chose a laser rifle with an extended magazine which, according to the robotic butler, was called the Wazer Wifle, though only the gods knew why…


The three Brotherhood Soldiers crested the hill and stared. They were overlooking a field with train tracks leading into a narrow ravine; the entrance to Evergreen Mills.

Yet the field was not empty. It was full of people. Wastelanders of every shape and size had gathered and set up camps. Sarah could make out the shapes of ghouls, regular wasters, and mercs in combat armour.

Someone spotted them and shouted something. The entire camp began to cheer. Several representatives from each section came forward to greet them.

The first to reach them was a pale, yet not unattractive man wearing a duster much like Jason's. He had a tank of fuel on his back hooked up to a lawnmower blade. Like Three-Dog, his voice was deep, almost hypnotic. Sarah could have happily listened to it for hours. He drew his feet together sharply and bowed, taking her hand and kissing it with a certain amount of elegance, "Greetings, human. I am Vance, of Meresti. A few of my associates as well as myself have come to answer Three-Dog's call and lend what aid we can. I imagine we were all awaiting the arrival of the Brotherhood of Steel."

"We're it." Sarah told him, a little taken aback.

"You've got to be kidding," said the next in line.

Sarah regarded him with some amount of surprise as did Glade who said, in a shocked voice, "McGraw?"

"Yeah," said the outcast soldier, "He's done a fair amount for us including saving my ass personally, and we sent ten outcasts. We're the ones who aren't supposed to give a shit. Why the hell are there only three of you?"

"My Father is deliberating." Sarah told him sarcastically.

"Yeah, well," McGraw crossed his arms with an 'I told you so!' expression on his face, "That's typical Owyn Lyons."

Sarah ignored the jab, mostly because at that moment she felt the same way. What felt like the entire wasteland had gathered, ready to lay down their lives to rescue Jason, and Sarah's own father was still sitting tight in the citadel, refusing to act.

"S'cuse me." Said another voice. Sarah turned and her eyes narrowed. Four Talon Company soldiers were standing beside McGraw.

"Listen," said the speaker as Sarah stared at his black combat armour, "I just wanna establish sumthin' right off the top, y'know? So ya don't shoot me."

"You're Talon Company." Sarah said, "According to Three-Dog, you and the Wanderer are basically mortal enemies."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know," the merc said quickly, "an' don't get me wrong, I hate the fuck-"

"Careful." murmured a ghoul standing next to him.

"Shut up, Zombie." The merc snapped, "Look, a lot of people in Rivet City are paying us a lot of money to get him out. We get a quarter of the reward now, and the rest when he's delivered back to Rivet City safe and sound. Money is money."

"And that's all you care about…" Said the Ghoul, "Name's Quinn, Underworld. The Wanderer and Three-Dog've done a helluva lot for Ghouls in the wasteland. I got six ghouls here ready to return the favour," he waved a hunting rifle, "and we're all crack shots."

Sarah and Glade wandered through the crowd, being greeted on all sides by all kinds of wastelanders from all walks of life. And they all had one thing in common: they all either owed Jason something directly, or were friends with someone who did.

A few stood out, however.

Sarah approached a stoic black woman carrying the strangest weapon the Sentinel had ever seen. It looked like something out of a pre-war comic book. No weapons Sarah had ever seen bore any resemblance to it.

"Yes?" the woman asked.

"What's your name?" Sarah responded.

"Somah. The Wanderer and I were in a tight spot a few months ago," she shrugged, "I guess I owe him."

"How tight?" Sarah asked, "Supermutants?"

The woman smiled, "You couldn't imagine."

Among the crowd were two hot-headed young men from Bigtown: Shorty and Timebomb, both of whom claimed to be there because the young women in Bigtown had asked them, and it was hard to say no.

"Lyons!" another voice yelled. The Sentinel turned about and spotted a blonde woman carrying a Chinese assault rifle. She was wearing green combat armour with a four leaf clover painted on the chest plate. Sarah recognized her. She led a small merc band who made their money mapping the ruins. The Pride had run into them a few times and were on good terms with them.

Reilly snapped off a quick salute, "Nice to see you again, Sentinel." She motioned at the mass of people, "I've been trying to get this rabble organized into a fighting force, but I could use some help… hand out some orders. We're at your service here."

Sarah nodded. She looked around at the militia, "Take an inventory. I want to know exactly what we've got. How many people? And how many weapons we have. How many medics, as well. Tell each... tell each group to select a leader and have them report to that railcar over there. We'll figure out a strategy."

She turned to Gallows, "I want to know the layout of Evergreen Mills. I want to know where Jason is, and what resistance we'll be facing. On a map. Everyone, you have your orders, get it done!"


Lol, I think half of you probably guessed what was going to happen ahead of time. Next chapter will be the last. Then I'll probably post an FAQ section, which I will add to as people ask questions.

Btw, if anyone is looking for a few really excellent Lone Wanderer Vrs. Courier fics, check out 'Versus' by Dynast Grauscherra, And 'Fruit of Vice and Virtue' by witcher 241. They're turning out to be really good.

On a side note, if any of you are fans of Deviantart and have any skill at making posters (because I have none at all), one for this fic would be really awesome. I realize that it's probably harder to do with Fallout than it is with other things. But in return you'd earn a friend and devoted reader who'd advertise your fics at every opportunity possible.