Sorry about this chapter. It's kind of short and insipid but it picks up in the next chapter. Hope you hang in there!


Jack and the crew had picked up a lot of gossip about the partners in the bars and posts on the Potomac. They had quite a reputation. He understood the scavenging, taking contracts, even the killing when necessary. He wasn't sure how he felt about the mutilated bodies left in their wake. Human, ghouls, mutants, it didn't seem to matter. Some people said they tortured them. All that was known for sure was they were cut open, sometimes sewn back up, but always left dead.

He felt it hard to credit this pretty, smiling woman with such deeds. Still, she ran the wasteland with a super mutant and got in trouble more in a month than most people did in a lifetime. A man would be crazy to get mixed up with this wild wasteland scavenger. So why did he feel all warm and excited when she came in? Why did he think about her all the time?

The Super Duper Mart trading post was becoming a major stop on the trade routes and Jack had to wait to talk to the proprietor. He watched Sally as she came in the building. She headed toward him as soon as she spotted him. Of course she would guess he was in here with the ship outside.

"Hey, Captain Jack. I'm glad to see you made it back. Will you be heading back down river soon?", Sally asked. Jack was careful to keep his voice neutral and his manner professional.

"Hey Sally. Tomorrow morning we'll head back. You looking for a ride to the Citadel?"

"Well, I'll probably stop in there while you're there, but we're headed for Rivet City. I want to see my mother.", Sally said. Jack was surprised.

"I didn't know you had family here. Is she living there?", he asked.

She shook her head. "No, she's working on a project near there. The Brotherhood's guarding them. I haven't seen her for several weeks now so I thought I'd drop in and see how she is. My Dad married his assistant so I guess she's really my step mother, but since Dad died she's all the family I have left. She's okay, we get along all right. Is the room on the Tradewind open?", she asked, indicating that personal chit chat was done. "I think we'd like to stay there tonight so we don't have to get up early. It's been a pretty long job and I'd like to get some extra sleep."

Jack nodded. He wasn't sure what to say to all this. It was the most he had learned about her since they had met. They negotiated a fair price for the room and meals, with the understanding Jack would be making stops at other posts, including the Citadel, before making it to Rivet City. Sally paid him, nodded farewells, and turned to the proprietor to begin her trading.

Hawk smiled to himself. He didn't believe Sally's desire to see Madison was the reason she chose to sail the Tradewind for the three days and nights it would take to reach Rivet City with all the stops on the way. He was pleased that they were going to get some well earned rest and he was going to get a chance to earn some caps. He was a better card player than the crew.

The trip on the Tradewind was without incident. Sally left at each port to trade for items she was going to need in the cave they had found. She enjoyed exchanging stories and tall tales with the crew members and they enjoyed having the strange duo on board. They were intrigued by Hawk's command of cards and continued to challenge him to games. He didn't always win though he usually left the ship ahead in caps. By the time they finally disembarked at Rivet City the partners were rested and ready to head for the mountains.

They approached Cave Entrance cautiously in the evening dusk, alert for signs of the Deathclaws that had a breeding cave nearby. After waiting for a juvenile female to pass they managed to slip into the cave using the rope ladder. It was awkward with the full packs but they wouldn't be full when they left.

Hawk set the small camp stove in an open area and made sure the energy cells were fully charged. Sally was arranging the fresh foods she had brought from her trades with Jack and Rivet City. They would only last a few days but they weren't planning on staying here long. She set out the dried and canned foods that would remain behind.

While Hawk headed into the stream cave to set up a lighting system she worked on creating comfortable bed areas. They would get more comfortable as more supplies were brought in. Right now the best she could do was hollow out some shallow areas in a sandy place and make sure all hard objects were removed before laying down blankets.

The lighting system was installed in less than a day throughout the entrance cave, the stream cave, and the tunnel leading to the radiated crater. The solar energy sources for entrance cave's power were carefully situated inside the radiated crater to take full advantage of the sun's rays.

They now had power, light, heat and water. Sally was pleased with their efforts. Tomorrow Hawk would work on crafting a toilet area that would utilize the stream to wash waste products from the cave without contaminating the stream. It would be harder without a big cutter but she had brought a small laser cutter that should do the job. The cutter too would be left here, along with Sally's radiation suit and one specially crafted for Hawk, and extra meds and weapons. This would become a place of refuge.

On the fourth day they rose early to leave before dawn. It was safer as most of the Deathclaws would be in the breeding cave until after daylight. They headed on south west into the unexplored areas of the mountains.

xx

The partners had been taking the Tradewind every month for six months. Sometimes the trip was short, only from one port to the next, if she had a job in the Wasteland. Usually she would catch the ship at Rivet City and ride the entire circuit, disembarking when they came in to a port to conduct her own business while Jack went about his trades. They never interfered in each other's business. Once they completed their initial trading with each other at the beginning of each trip their further exchanges were always brief and polite. Jack was careful to maintain his distance from the intriguing red head, though he often exchanged pleasantries with Hawk.

This time, though, she rode the Tradewind all the way to the Island. Hawk wasn't with her, and Jack found himself worrying about her. He knew the Island to be as violent and dangerous as the wasteland. When the ship returned 3 weeks later she was waiting with full packs.

The trading was intense and Jack found he enjoyed the session very much. Sally was a tough bargainer but so was Jack. They both found the exchange satisfying. When the ship docked at Rivet City Aaron invited Sally to have a drink with him at The Muddy Rudder and she accepted. Jack wasn't happy about the twinge of jealousy that ran through him as he watched them disembark together.

She rode the ship only as far as the Super Duper Mart where she took her gear and departed. She had told one of the crew she was meeting Hawk as they had a job to do. Jack watched her walk off into the wasteland with a strange feeling of loss. He wouldn't see her again for a month. She didn't even look back as the wasteland swallowed her.

She had gotten to know the crew quite well. She paid well for her and Hawk's room, which they always kept open for them, so no one questioned too closely her predilection for taking the sailing ship. The crew suspected she had developed an interest in one of them, but as she didn't pay any more attention to one than another, and spoke with the captain only when conducting business, they didn't know where her interest lay. They started a bet on which man would win a night with the girl.