Despite Alec's hopes, dawn came as it usually did. As soon as the sun rose he made his preparations. Extra ammo, extra grenades, whatever he thought he might need, he grabbed. Monty found him and quickly briefed him on how to use safely use and detonate the bomb before they walked to the gate together. When they finished they walked to the west gate, which they noticed was open. Gwen, Red, Jack, and Sarge were waiting for them. Once they arrived Monty, reluctantly, handed Alec the bomb which, at first glance, looked like a briefcase.

"Alright." She took a deep breath. "When you at the place you want to set the bomb, open it and punch in the password, 4822. Then, retreat to a safe distance, take cover and detonate with the remote."

"Understood."

"Be very careful with it. If you bang it around too much you might damage the internals and screw something up."

Red subconsciously took a step back. "It's not going to blow up randomly, is it?"

"No!" Realizing she had shouted, she took another deep breath to try to ease her nerves. "It won't be armed until after he puts in the password. Once he does though… well, I wouldn't kick it to find out."

"Understood." As Alec stepped toward the gate Sarge stepped in front of him.

"I think I speak for all of Nordhagen when I say thank you." He shook hands with him. "This is a huge risk you're taking on our behalf."

"I know."

After he released Sarge's hand Gwen gave him a firm hug. She tried to say something but it caught in her throat. Instead, she let go of Alec and looked away, avoiding eye contact.

Jack was next, he gave Alec a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Good luck."

Finally, Alec turned to Red. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to her.

"Don't read this until I'm gone."

Red frowned, puzzled. "Okay, but what is it?"

Alec ignored the question and walked out the gate in silence. Everyone watched him until he was out of sight. Once he was gone, Red looked down at the paper he had given her. Slowly, she unfolded it. Only two words were written on it. Her mouth hung open in shock and she looked out to the spot she had last seen Alec. Curious, Monty tried to look over Red's shoulder.

"What did it say?"

Red instantly crumpled the paper in her hand and quickly walked away, leaving everyone else glancing at each other, confused. Thoughts were swirling in her head and mile a minute. She needed to be alone to sort them out. She made her way to her shack and slammed the door behind her. Alone, she looked down at the paper and read the words again.

'I knew.'

She whispered the words to herself as she slumped to the floor.

'I knew'

"If you knew, then why?" She muttered, "Why?"

Alec traveled in silence once he left Nordhagen. There was no reason to talk, so listened to the sounds of the world around him. He found the Commonwealth surprisingly quiet when he wasn't in the middle of a gunfight, which wasn't often. Ever since Dunwich he never felt quite right unless he was fighting. Before Dunwich the idea of taking a life had made him sick. Now, killing raiders, gunners and the like was one of the few pleasures he had. Sometimes, though, it filled him with dread. Not the fact that he was killing, but the fear that he might not make it out alive. He knew that although he acted like nothing scared him, death still did.

Most of the time, he could easily ignore this fear. He could reassure himself that he was skilled and smart enough to make it out of whatever situation he put himself in. Some situations, like this one, relied more on luck or, as one of his teachers told him, 'fate.' Both were things he couldn't control but fate bothered him the most out of the two. Was there really some things that were predestined to happen, no matter what someone did? Was fate orchestrated by a higher power of some kind? He often asked himself these questions but he could never come up with a satisfying answer. What happened at Dunwich gave him questions, but it gave him no concrete answers. One of his past teachers, Wade, probably would have had an answer; but they had parted ways some time ago and Alec doubted they would ever see each other again.

After many hours of trekking, he was a few blocks from Mass Bay Medical. He figured now would be a good time to rest and check in. once he found a suitable building and barricaded the door, he turned on his headset that was attached to his helmet. One of the things he had done before he left was to get Monty to attach a small 2-way radio to the inside of his helmet so he could communicate with everyone through her radio

"Monty, can you hear me?"Silence. He adjusted the frequency. "Monty, can you hear me?" Nothing. He made another adjustment. "Monty, are you there?" This he heard something. He listened closely. Snoring, it was definitely snoring. He shook his head and inhaled deeply, then shouted. "Monty!" There was a crash followed by several choice curses.

"Yes, I'm here. Have you reached Mass Bay Medical?"

"I'm a few blocks away. Is anyone else there with you?"

"Gwen is in the other room. Should I get her?"

"What is she doing in your house?"

He heard her sigh. "She's camped in here waiting for word since you left." Before Alec could say anything he heard a door open and Gwen's voice through the radio.

"Is that him?"

"Yeah," Monty confirmed, "he just called in a few seconds ago."

"Are you okay, Alec?"

"Yes, I'm fine." He poked his head out of a broken window and looked around. It was getting near sundown and the street was empty except a few ruined cars. Alec stepped back, an idea forming in his head.

"Monty, what is the range on the detonator again?"

"Maximum should, theoretically, be one hundred and fifty feet, but I don't know if it will work at that range."

He looked out the window again, first to the left. In the middle of the street was a wrecked car. An object that looked like a suitcase wouldn't appear out of place. Down the street to the right was a semi-truck that had flipped over. He guessed the two vehicles were a little over a hundred feet apart. Well within range of the detonator.

"All right, I going to begin setting up the trap, I will need radio silence. I'll contact you when this is all over."

"Understood," Monty replied. Before he turned off his headset her heard Gwen speak up again.

"Be careful, Alec."

"I will." He told her before he shut off the headset. Now was the time to get to work.

As soon as Alec cut off Gwen returned to pacing back and forth. Monty sighed. She had been doing it practically non-stop ever since Alec had left. Currently, there was nothing that needed to be done around the settlement so there was nothing for her to burn her nervous energy on.

"Perhaps you should get something to eat?" Monty offered. It wasn't much, but it might at least get her out of her house. "It's about dinner time isn't it?"

"Yes." Gwen glanced at the radio, clearly not wanting to leave.

"It will be some time before he calls back. You won't miss anything if you grab a quick bite."

"Okay," Gwen conceded. "I'll be right back, though." With one last longing look at the radio, she walked out.

"I'm sure you will," Monty whispered to herself. She looked around her house, looking for something to do while she waited. Her 'house' was more like a workshop than a home. Bits and pieces were scattered everywhere and half-finished projects were lying on several tables. "I should really clean up." She thought to herself. She had told herself that many times but she never did. Between all the projects she was working on she never found time to do any cleanup. The mess didn't bother her that much anyway.

As her eyes wandered they landed on a rifle that was sitting on a nearby table. She walked over and picked it up. It was an M1 Garand. It was an old gun even before the bombs fell. A trader had sold it to her very cheap since it didn't work. She had intended to spend time tinkering with it but she had been distracted, as she often was, by other projects. Having nothing else to do, she took it apart to try to find what was wrong with it. It didn't take her long to find out. Some of the parts had rusted into place. It was an easy fix, most just needed cleaning. A few parts needed to be replaced and she had plenty of spare parts on hand. Soon enough she had engrossed herself in the work. After only a few minutes Gwen walked back in.

"Any word, yet?"

"Hmm?" Monty looked up from her work. "Oh right. No, not yet." While she returned to her work Gwen returned to nervously waiting nearby. Just as Monty was putting a part into the gun static roared from the radio. In the static, she could make out Alec's voice.

"Monty, are you there?" Both of the women practically leaped to the radio. His voice sounded ragged and they could hear gunfire in the background.

"Yes, I am here. What's wrong?" Monty adjusted the frequency from the radio, trying to clear up the static. Alec said something but they couldn't make it out.

"Please repeat." She asked as she continued to work with the radio.

"It didn't work."

The women glanced at each other with a mix of worry and confusion. "What do you mean? What didn't work?"

"The detonator isn't working. The light on the detonator is red and the bomb won't go off."

Monty could feel sweat beginning to form on her forehead. The red light meant the signal wasn't getting through "How far away are you?"

"About a hundred feet."

"That should be well within range. Was the bomb damaged in any way?"

"Not that I know off." Several loud bangs followed. Probably Alec firing his gun.

Monty quickly ran through every scenario she could think off in her head. "Perhaps there's some sort of interference. Perhaps a large number of radioactive materials nearby? Do you see any?"

"No, I-" Alec cut himself off. "What did Union Co. transport?"

Monty wiped the sweat from her head. "If I had to guess, it's probably radioactive." That explained the static and the bomb not working. Thankfully the radio had a more powerful signal otherwise it too would be out of commission.

"Is there anything he can do?" Gwen asked, visibly shaking. Monty tried to ignore her and focus on Alec.

"You'll need to put some distance between you and the radiation. Getting closer to the bomb might help as well."

"But that will put him in more danger!"

"It's the only thing I can think of. Keep an eye on the light. When it turns green the signal is getting through."

"Alright." There was a grunt and more loud bangs. They could hear his footsteps through the radio as he ran. As he ran the gunfire never abated. Then a cry of pain followed by a wordless shout. After several more bangs, Alec spoke again. His voice was even more ragged and weak.

"The signal... is getting through."

Gwen immediately spoke. "Alec, are you okay?"

"...fine."

"You don't sound…"

"Stop." The quiet order silenced Gwen who was beginning to look sick. Monty then asked the question that she didn't want the answer to.

"How far are you from the bomb?"

"Maybe… thirty feet."

Monty eyes bulged and her face went white as a sheet.

"Is that a safe distance?" Gwen asked. She got no answer. Monty appeared frozen in place, eyes locked forward and Alec remained silent on the other end. "Is that a safe distance?" She was yelling at this point but still, there was no answer. She grabbed Monty by her shirt and shook her, repeating herself and trying to get a response.

"Gwen…"

It was only one word, but it shivered through her spine and chilled her. The normal monotone voice Alec usually spoke with was gone, replaced by a voice Gwen hadn't heard in years. At that moment, he was truly Alec again. Not Raider Slayer but Alec, the man she had fallen in love with years ago. The man she had watched devolve into a husk. The man who was now fighting for his life on the other side of the radio. So close yet so far away. She turned to the radio and gulped.

"I'm here, Alec."

"Gwen… I'm sorry. I tried."

Gwen gripped the edge of the table so tightly her knuckles turned white. She knew what he was about to do and she was powerless to stop him. She could barely manage to whisper one word.

"Don't."

"Goodbye."

"No!" She screamed as a deafening roar erupted from the radio. She collapsed onto the ground, her head in her hands as she tried in vain to hold back the wave of tears pouring down her cheeks.

Red had needed a distraction once Alec had left so she spent the whole day training. By that evening Red had pushed her body to its limits. She was so worn out that walking from Fort Strong to Nordhagen was a great effort.

Dinner was a silent affair. No one bothered her or more than glanced her direction. The whole settlement seemed to have an eerie quiet to it now, even more so than before the first gunner attack. The settlement felt empty too. When she left the dining hall and walked around she hardly saw anyone. Red guessed that news of the impending gunner attack had gotten around and everyone, realizing the next few days might be their last, didn't feel like socializing.

Hoping for news about Alec, Red made her way to Monty's house. Monty had told her that she would be standing by the radio all day for word from Alec so it was a good place to start. When she arrived she knocked on the door. When the door opened Red knew immediately something had gone wrong. Monty, who had opened the door, looked worn out, with bags under her eyes and her posture stuck in a slouch. She motioned for her to come in. As she stepped in Red could see Gwen sitting on a couch. Gwen looked as if she had aged ten years in one day and when she looked up at Red, she could see that she had been crying.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Monty nodded confirmation. Red hadn't known Alec for long, but she couldn't help but feel terrible. Alec, for all his annoying quirks, had been a good man. Red sat down in a chair opposite of Gwen and tried to think of something to break the dreary silence. "So, what do we do now?"
"Well," Monty said, "The only thing we can do is prepare. We don't know how many gunners he took with him when he…" She trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish the sentence. Red finished it for her.

"Dead, but we should assume that an attack is still coming. Better safe than sorry."

"Yes. You sticking around?"

Red frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, this isn't your home. You don't have to stay. This is our home, our fight." Monty sat down next Gwen, who didn't acknowledge her presence. "No one would think badly of you if you walked away."

To be honest, she had been considering it. The odds were stacked against Nordhagen. In all likelihood, it would be a massacre. But anytime her instincts to run were beginning to win out, she thought about Alec. He had probably faced odds like this many times. He had risked his life more times than probably anyone in Nordhagen and he had saved her life. For that, she owed him big time.

"No, I'll stay."

"Why?" Monty shook her head, confused. "You don't owe us anything."

"No, but I owe him."

Monty nodded. "He saved you from raiders, right?"

"Yeah."

"That isn't everything, is it?" Red jumped in surprise at Gwen's voice. There's some other reason you're staying. Why are you risking everything to help people you barely know?"

Red turned away and stared out the window. There was one other reason.

"Can you two keep a secret?"

Monty and Gwen looked at each other, confused, before nodding their heads.

"Before the raiders took me prisoner I…" She took a deep breath before forcing the next words out. "...used to be a raider myself." Monty and Gwen's eyes widened, but she continued. "I've done a lot of things I regret. Alec apparently knew I was a raider, but he saved me anyway and gave me a second chance. A chance to do something good for a change. By all rights, I should be dead; either with my old gang or my kidnappers. But I'm not. I am here and I am staying.

The commander slammed his fist on the desk.

"Twenty dead?" He shouted at his subordinates. "And almost as many wounded? How did this happen?" The most senior of the subordinates present spoke up, obviously nervous.

"W-well, it would appear that an improvised explosive was placed in the middle of the street where our men were lured out before the bomb was detonated." Another man spoke up.

"Wounded say it was the 'Reaper.'"

The commander groaned and dropped into his chair. "This again? The same 'Reaper' that supposedly killed Kesselridge? Save your boogeyman stories."

"Reaper or not." continued the second man. "It appears the man was killed in the detonation. According to the survivors he was well within kill range of the bomb."

The commander grunted. There was some satisfaction in that, but dead or not, he still cost them men.

"Has the body of the perpetrator been found?"

"No sir, but with all the rubble it could take days to find it. If it wasn't incinerated."

"Then we won't waste the time. Lt. Peterson."

"Yes, sir?"

"Find us conscripts to replace the men we lost."

"Yes, sir." The Lt. quickly stepped out of the room.

"Sergeant."

"Yes, sir?"

"Have our men make as many explosives as possible."

The sergeant nodded and walked out.

"Everyone else, return to your duties."

Everyone left the room except one man, the most senior officer under the commander.

"You have something to say, captain?"

"Is this extra preparation necessary? Even with our losses we outnumber and outgun Nordhagen."

"We did the last time too, yet they managed to beat us. We need to press every advantage we have, not just numbers." The commander stood up and examined a map on his wall. "we will proceed with more caution this time. First, we will block them in. No one leaves and no one enters. Then, we will use every explosive we have to tear down their walls. Only after that will the main push begin."

"The expense will be high." The captain noted.

"The reward will be higher. You're dismissed."

The captain nodded and walked out, leaving the commander alone with his thoughts.

"Soon," he thought aloud. "Nordhagen first, then Diamond City."

A few blocks from Mass Bay Medical rubble was strewn everywhere. The explosion, much larger than Monty had anticipated, had torn a crater in the center of the street and launched everything in the vicinity. A neighboring building had collapsed as well, covering the entire street in its debris. Bodies, or what remained of them, were scattered about as well. Most were missing limbs and some were barely recognizable as human. Some ways down the street, a semi lay on its side. The explosion hadn't moved it but it had torn it open, allowing radioactive waste to spill out. Not far from the truck underneath several feet of rubble was a single, unmoving body.