Red was really beginning to regret her anything more than a few words out of Tue was liking trying to force a mole rat out of its den. It was not coming out unless it wanted to; and Tue did not want to. On top of that, he never seemed to tire. They had been walking for hours before the sun began to set. At which point, she assumed they would prepare camp for the night in some old building. Tue, however, kept on walking. Red didn't want to admit she was tired, but if they went much further she would have to swallow her pride and protest.

Suddenly, Tue turned sharply southward.

"Um, isn't the museum that way?" she pointed north.

"Yes."

"Than where are we going?"

"Nordhagen."

Red scratched the back of her head. It sounded like a settlement, but she had never heard of it. Then again, her gang had never operated in this area before. Surprisingly, Tue continued.

"We can get food, supplies, and rest there. They may have information as well."

This seemed too easy to Red. "Why would they help us?"

"I know someone."

"You.. know someone? You have a friend inside?"

"Yes."

'That's… surprising.' Tue didn't seem like the person to have friends. Especially given how unsociable he was with her. She couldn't imagine anyone actually being his friend.

It wasn't long before they reached a bridge stretching across a small expanse of water. At the end of the bridge was a wooden gate at least nine feet tall, with two guard posts flanking each side. Tue walked straight up to the gate and knocked hard on it. At first, nothing happened. Then an armed man appeared at each post, looking down at them. Instincts screamed at Red to reach for her pipe pistol, but she forced herself to remain calm

"Who are you and what do you want?" The guard on the left shouted. Before either of them could answer, the guard on the right spoke up.

"Hey! That's the Raider Slayer!"

"The Raider Slayer? I thought he didn't exist."

"Well, who else could that be?"

"I dunno, a strung-out jet-junky?"

"Heh, you're as thick as manure and only half as useful."

"Why don't you come over here and say that!"

"You think I won't? I'll take you right…"

Red couldn't stand it any longer. "Hey! You mind letting us in before half the Super Mutants in the Commonwealth hear you and decide to investigate?" Immediately, the two focused on her.

"Who's she?" Asked the guard on the left.

"No clue."

"Should we shoot her?"

"You can't just shoot random people who show up at the gate!"

"She might be a raider."

"Standing right next to the Raider Slayer? Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

Before they could continue, Tue spoke up. "She's traveling with me. Open the gate."

"Yes, sir." The man on the right disappeared. The guard on the left hesitated, his attention switching between Red and Tue briefly, before disappearing as well.

"I thought he'd be a bit taller."

"Shut up."

After a few moments the gate began to groaned open. Red leaned toward Tue.

"So… Raider Slayer. I didn't realize you were famous"

He shook his head. "I'm not."

As they stepped through the gate Red looked over the settlement. The first thing she noticed was that it was completely enclosed in wooden walls, ten feet tall, dotted with guard posts, and with barbed wire at the top. The central building, of the settlement was two stories tall and metal from top to bottom. Several wooden structures surrounded it. Mostly they appeared to be shacks for two or three people to live in. None of the buildings appeared to be pre-war structures. They were making their way toward the metal building when an older man, carrying an assault rifle stopped them.

He wore what appeared to be a collection of pre-war armor, raider scraps, and old leather, cobbled together to form something resembling body armor. The man, taller than either of them, briefly sized them up, then spoke to Tue in a gruff, weathered voice.

"I didn't expect to see you back, Slayer. Rumour had it you were dead." Tue shrugged. The man turned his attention to her. "And you are?"

"Red. Who are you?"

"Brandy, but most call me Sarge. I handle security." He turned back to Tue. "Gwen will want to see you, but I suppose you know that. You two staying for the night?"

"If possible." Tue replied.

"You can use the guest shack. The folks just started dinner, you're welcome to join."

Red's face lit up at the prospect of food. All the walking they had done made her hungry. Sarge seemed to notice her expression and called for one of the guards.

"Carl!"

"Sir?"

"Escort the lady to the dining hall."

"Yes sir. Come on Ms." He motioned for her to follow. Red looked at Tue, who nodded.

"I'll join you in a moment, I need to speak with Gwen first."

"Ok." Red followed the guard. As they walked together she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Aside the time she was recovering in Diamond City, the only reason she was ever in a settlement was to raid. Being treated with anything other than contempt and hatred by settlers was a new thing for her. The settlers they walked past gave her curious looks, but other than that they simply nodded and continued on their way. She then turned her eyes to her escort, Carl. He seemed young, perhaps around her age, with brown hair and eyes. She decided to see if she could pry some information from him "I didn't realize there was a settlement here."

"Not surprising, we're a bit isolated here. Not to many traders come up this way, but not much trouble comes up either. Well, until recently."

"What's been going on recently?"

"Gunners, they set up shop nearby. Might cause problems. I wouldn't worry too much though, Gwen's smart, she'll figure out a solution."

'Gunners?' That didn't sound good. "Who's Gwen? Sarge mentioned her too"

"She's the mayor, and here's the dining hall." Carl halted at a long building with the sign 'Dining Hall' on the outside. "The guest shack where you'll be staying is that one there with the yellow door." He pointed it out to here. "Come on in, I'll introduce you to the cook." Carl opened the door and motioned for her to enter, which she did. As soon as they entered Red could smell the food and her mouth began to water. Carl stepped up to a counter, where a man was cutting up vegetables next to a large pot. "Hey, Fritz."

The man looked up. "Shouldn't you be on guard duty?"

"I am, Sarge just asked me to show the guest to the dining hall for some food."

"Guest? Didn't know we were getting any guests today." Fritz began to scoop stew out of the pot into a bowl.

"I didn't know either. Came in just a few moments ago with the Raider Slayer."

"He's back? Hm, started to think he finally bit the dust. Here you go." He handed her a full bowl of stew with a spoon and cup of water. "Enjoy."

"Thanks." She looked down at the stew. Meat and vegetables by the looks of it. She sat down at one of the empty tables.

"I should get back on guard duty." Carl told her.

"Ok, thanks for taking me here."

"No problem." Carl turned to leave, then turned back, nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot "I hope you don't mind but, can I ask you a question?"

Red raised an eyebrow. "I guess."

"What are you doing with the Raider Slayer? From what I hear, he works alone, without a partner."

"Is that so? What else do you hear about him?" Perhaps she could learn something about Tue.

Carl smiled. "I heard he's the most dangerous man in the Commonwealth, that he's killed hundreds of raiders by himself." Red could see his excitement. "One time, he took down a raider boss in power armor with only a sword and that…" He stopped, eyes widening with realization. "Shoot, I gotta get back to my post before Sarge gets mad, bye." Carl bolted from the building at full speed, leaving Red alone at her table.

'How long has Tue been doing this?' She thought. 'He's got a whole freakin' legend about himself.' Red decided she could think about it later. Now, she had a stew to eat.

'Thump, thump, thump.'

"Door's unlocked." Gwen wondered who that could be. Everyone was usually eating right now and she wasn't expecting anyone. She stood up from her desk and moved toward the door as it opened.

"Gwen."

For a second, she froze, eyes locked with the man in her doorway. Then, she leapt forward, almost knocking him off his feet as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Alec! It's been forever since I've seen you!"

Alec/Tue awkwardly hugged back. "About a year, I think."

She didn't seem to hear him, but continued to speak in rapid fire."Rumors were spreading that you were dead. I didn't believe them. I knew you weren't dead. They was a good reason you weren't back. Of course I didn't know what, but I hoped you would be back soon, and now you're here so I was right and…" She stopped, pulling herself away and stepping back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to jump you like that."

"It's fine. I am happy to see you are well.

"Yes, I'm fine. Busy, but fine. How are you? Are you alright?"

"I am well." he began to rummage through a bag on his hip. "I was hoping you had some of my medicine ready." He pulled out several empty syringes. Gwen's eyes bulged.

"How long have you been out?"

"Two months."

Gwen darted to a nearby cupboard. "Yes, I have more." She pulled out several similar looking syringes. "I had some ready for when you came back."

Tue rolled up his sleeve past his elbow then, after taking one of the syringes, pressed it into his arm. Once a quarter of the fluid was used he pulled it out and placed it in his pouch along with the others she handed him.

"You're supposed to use all of it." She told him.

"Have to ration. Never know when I'll get more."

She sighed. "You'll never get better like that."

"I know, but it will keep me going."

"Why don't you stay here?"

"We've had this discussion."

"I know, but, with treatment, we may be able to help your…" she paused, thinking of the right word. "...condition."

"Maybe, but it would take years. I can't wait that long."

Gwen sighed. They had the same discussion before he left a year ago and he had given the same short responses he gave in every situation. At times, it was definitely frustrating. She turned back toward her desk to grab something. As she did, the movement caused a curtain in a window to sway slightly, causing the evening sun to peer into the room. The rays landed on Tue's open skin, causing him to cry out in pain and grab his arm. When Gwen heard him to whirled around and rushed to his side.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean…"

"It's fine, it was an accident." He removed his hand from his arm to inspect it. The skin had begun to turn red, but hadn't burned. He rolled down his sleeve, covering the skin once more. Gwen, careful not to disturb the curtains returned to her desk and grabbed some items from a drawer.

"I had a few of these made for you as well." She held them out to him. Filters for his mask.

"Thank you." He took them and placed them in another pouch. "I was running out of these as well."

"How long can you go without?"

"Brief periods. Enough for repairs and food, but not much longer."

"That's better than before."

"A little." Alec reached into his coat, pulled the paper he had taken at Diamond City, and handed it to her. "I recognized your handwriting."

Gwen looked at it and nodded. "I sent it down a month ago with the traders. Unfortunately, the situation is even worse."

"How so?"

"The raiders were wiped out by gunners. Recently, Sarge has noticed gunner scouts poking around nearby." Gwen massaged her head. "Sarge thinks they plan to attack."

"He's right. They will probably attack within a few days of sending scouts. How long ago did he notice the scouts?"

"Three days ago."

Alec considered the information. "Then they will probably attack tomorrow."

"What! How do you know?"

"Usually, gunners will take three days to scout a location they will attack. If they haven't attacked yet, than tomorrow will most likely be the day they attack."

To her credit, Gwen recovered from her shock quickly. "I need to find Sarge." She rushed past Alec. "We need to plan. You're coming too."

Red leaned back in her chair and gave a satisfied sigh. The stew was excellent, much better than anything she had eaten as a raider. Raider food mostly consisted of whatever had been scavenged that morning. It was not exactly an appetizing food.

Most of the people in the dining hall had left, while some remained behind to talk with each other. Red, however, was by herself, with no one to talk to. Even if Tue had been there, she doubted she could've gotten much out of him. Besides, she was feeling tired. Now would be a good time to get some sleep.

Just as she rose from her chair, a man burst into the hall. He looked around, obviously looking for something. When he locked eyes with her, he rushed to her table.

"Are you Red?" He asked.

"Ya, why?"

"Raider Slayer wants you in the town hall."

"What for?"

"I dunno, but the mayor and Sarge are there too, so it's probably important."

"I'm guessing the town hall is the big metal building, right.?"

"Yep."

'So much for sleep.' She thought. Red made her way to the town hall at a brisk pace. She was too full to run. When she got there, she saw Tue, Sarge, and woman who she presumed was the mayor, surrounding a small table in the center of the hall, looking intently at what appeared to be a large piece of paper. As she walked up to the table, she realized it was a crudely drawn map of what appeared to be Nordhagen and the surrounding area.

"You wanted to see me?"

He nodded his acknowledgement, but continued to pour over the map. The woman looked at her with a confused expression. "Who is she?"

"Red." He said nothing else. Silence.

The mayor spoke again. "Ok, but who she?"

"Red." He repeated. Again, silence filled the air. This time, Tue appeared to notice it and he looked up from the table and noticed all eyes were on him. "What?"

Sarge spoke up this time. "You're not really answering the question."

"I'm not?"

"No, you're not" Red answered. She turned to the woman. "You must be the mayor, Gwen. I was a prisoner of a gang he killed. Now, I am killing raiders with him."

"I see." Something about Gwen's tone made Red wonder if she said something wrong.

"Is there a problem?" She asked

"No." Gwen stepped back toward the table, looking at Tue. "I'm just surprised Alec was traveling with somebody. He usually doesn't work with others."

"So I've heard. I admit, his social skills don't exactly…" Red paused and replayed what Gwen just said in her head. "Wait, did you call him Alec?"

"Of course, that's his name."

Red gave Alec an incredulous look. "Why did you tell me your name was Teutonic?"

"Teutonic?" It was Gwen's turn to give him an incredulous look. "Is that the name you decided to go with?" She rolled her eyes and smiled, amused. "I told you that wasn't a name, it's just a nonsense old world word you found in some half-burned book."

Alec shrugged. "I liked it." He turned his gaze to Red. "Sorry, I went by that name for almost a year. Became a habit."

"We can talk about names later." Sarge interjected. "Perhaps we should return to what's important? Like the gunners who are planning on murdering us all?"

Gwen nodded her agreement "Of course."

"The guard mentioned gunners where in the area. Are those the 'raiders' we're hunting?"

Alec shook his head. "No, they're dead. We're fighting gunners now."

"Not that we have much of a choice." Sarge interjected. "If Slayer is right, they're coming for us." He tapped on the map. "The east gate via the bridge is the only way inside from the mainland. They'll probably hit us there. We should focus most of our efforts protecting it."

"No."

Sarge looked up at Alec, eyebrow raised. "No?"

"No, they'll attack the gate; but the main push will be from the north." He pointed to a stretch of beach that connected to the northern end of the Nordhagen, creating a land bridge from the mainland to the settlement in the shape of an upside down 'L'.

"There's no gate on that wall. Why would they attack there?"

"A team of gunners large enough to attack a settlement will undoubtedly have a demolitions expert, probably armed with a rocket launcher."

Red inhaled nervously. As a raider, she never experienced that kind of firepower first-hand; but she had heard stories and none of them good. "Those wooden walls won't stand a chance."

"Indeed." Sarge's face was grim. "I can have Mad Monty scrap a few mines together, but that won't stop them."

"It won't need to. Gunners may have a basic grasp of tactics, but their not much smarter than raiders." Alec said as he continued to stare at the map. Red felt mildly insulted at the statement, but held her tongue.

"Do you have something in mind?" Gwen asked.

"Have a few men guard the gate. The rest will remain in cover well behind the north wall. When gunners break through. They'll be caught in the open, shot to pieces by the guards." Everyone nodded. It was a good plan. Not that any of them had a better one to compare it with.

"How many gunners will be involved in this attack?" Sarge asked.

"20 at least, but 30 is more likely. Gunner's don't attack unless the odds are heavily in their favor."

Gwen massaged her forehead. "We have only six guards."

"I can have a few more people armed. But we only have enough supplies to properly outfit three more, the rest will be fighting with whatever else can be scraped together." Sarge shook his head. "We're talking rusty pipe pistols and baseball bats."

"It will be enough." Alec responded as he rose from his hunched position over the table.

"If you say so." She told him. "But if you saved my life only to get me killed here. I will haunt you to the grave."

Gwen chuckled nervously while Alec looked up at Red "You will?" Although it was hard to tell with his monotone voice; Red was certain she heard a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yes. I will." She responded.

"I see."

Before Red could respond in frustration, Gwen spoke up. "We should get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." Everyone agreed, silently ending the meeting. Red, along with Alec, made their way to the guest shack. As they walked, something about the meeting bugged Red. The way Gwen had said, 'he usually doesn't work with others' stuck out to here. She didn't appear to be lying, but she sounded worried. She also sounded like she wasn't telling the whole truth.

Red also wondered why she was part of the meeting. It made sense for everyone else to be there except her. Yet, apparently, Alec wanted her there.

'The more I'm around this guy, the more questions I have.'