They started out early the next morning, before the market had even opened. They detoured slightly so Lillian could drop off the mystery letter for Arturo. At least MacCready was in a better mood, like he hadn't been angry at Lillian the day before for asking about Lucy. They kept walking until they reached the train tracks.
"Hold up," MacCready said, stopping and looking around, "Yeah, let's do some practice here. There are some bloatflies down that way we can shoot."
"Okay," Lillian removed her pack and told Canigou to guard it.
"Right, so before we take shots at the flies, let me see how you can handle it now. Shoot that lower branch on the tree over there." MacCready pointed in the opposite direction at a dead tree.
Lillian lifted the rifle and looked through the scope, lining the shot to the branch. She braced herself for the recoil, pulled the trigger, and... nothing. She frowned. She was sure she it was loaded.
"Okay, so lesson number one - turn off the safety," MacCready chuckled.
"I knew that," she said, flicking the safety switch.
"Uh huh. Try again."
She aimed for the branch, pulled the trigger, and was nearly knocked off her feet by the recoil. "Damn, that's stronger than I remember."
"You need to adjust your stance. Feet a little further apart, that's it. Right foot a little further back. Good." He stood in front of her and turned her shoulders so they were more square to the ground. "Like that. See?" He pushed her shoulder and she barely moved. "Try again."
She tried again, shot the branch, and wasn't knocked off balance this time. "You know, when I learned to shoot a sniper rifle, we weren't standing. We were either lying prone, or kneeling."
"And you were shooting paper targets," MacCready smirked.
Lillian laughed. "Hey, those could've given someone a paper cut!"
"Want to try shooting the flies?" Lillian nodded. "Okay, so long range shooting is a bit tricky. Sometimes you have to adjust for the wind and also try to predict where your target is going if they're in motion."
"Right." Lillian licked her finger and held it in the air. "Wind is coming in westward, not too fast, shouldn't have to adjust too much."
"You learn that at military boot camp?"
"Nah, my granddad. He'd take me hunting when I was younger, but I'd use a bow and arrow. Much preferable over guns, even if I didn't have much strength to use it properly back then."
"Huh. Well, take your shot. Once you shoot, the flies will head our way."
Lillian aimed for one of the flies which was hovering near a dead tree. MacCready readied his rifle as well. She pulled the trigger and watched the bloatfly explode. Three others started flying towards them. She aimed again, trying to keep steady as she followed one of the flies. She took the shot, but missed. MacCready shot one of the others dead. She tried again to shoot another fly, but they were moving too fast for her to follow through the scope. Luckily for her, MacCready managed to calmly kill the others.
"Well. I got one," she said proudly.
"Heh, that you did. Maybe next time have one of your other guns on you," he nodded to her pack which Canigou was still sitting by.
"Oh. Right."
"These are good for long range, but not so much when your targets get closer, so it's good to have a short range weapon on you."
"Okay. So should we continue on?"
"Yeah, let's get those assholes."
It was a few more hours before they reached the Mass Pike Interchange. MacCready took out his binoculars for a look towards the overpass.
"I can't see how many are up there, but there's a few down below over that way," he pointed to a small group of shacks on the ground under the overpass.
"So, we take out the ones on the ground then head up?" Lillian asked, looking through her binoculars as well.
MacCready didn't answer for a moment. "No. There are only three there, but there are more on the overpass. If we take out the ground ones first, the others will be alerted and they have the advantage."
"So how do we get up there?"
"Over there," he pointed further down. "Looks to be a lift. Hopefully there won't be much of a guard there."
"Okay," Lillian took a deep breath, "Let's do this."
"You sure?" MacCready put away his binoculars and turned to her. "You ready to kill people?"
She took another deep breath. "Yeah. If they're as bad as you say they are, then I guess they need to go."
"Okay, let's go."
She followed MacCready to the lift. They hid their packs under a nearby bush and told Canigou to guard. They crouched on the lift before MacCready pushed the button. It slowly rose to the overpass, much quieter than Lillian had expected. No one was waiting at the top, giving them a moment to get their bearings. They moved quietly up to a burnt-out car.
"Turret up ahead," MacCready said quietly, looking down the scope of his rifle, "There's probably a terminal nearby to deactivate it."
"Should we try that?" Lillian asked.
"There's a good chance a Gunner is sitting at that terminal. Best option is to take the turret out, but it'll get the attention of the rest of the Gunners. You ready?"
"Yeah. I'm ready." She took a breath and aimed her rifle at the turret. She exhaled then pulled the trigger, breaking the turret into pieces.
"Here they come," said MacCready. He took aim and shot at a few of the Gunners who appeared to see what had happened. As they hid, he ran to a break in the concrete barrier and crouched behind it.
Lillian stayed where she was and looked down her scope. She spotted a Gunner peeking out from behind another barrier. She aimed and fired before the Gunner could hide again. Half of his face disappeared and she felt sick to her stomach. Another Gunner nearby fell to the ground as MacCready shot her dead.
"Ah, dammit, assaultron!" MacCready shouted. Lillian looked and saw an assaultron running from around the corner. MacCready lobbed a grenade towards it, but it bounced off the road and over the side. "Crap!"
The assaultron halted and fired up its head laser towards MacCready who quickly scrambled behind the concrete barrier. Lillian huddled behind the burnt-out car, shielding her eyes from the blast of the laser. A moment later, she switched her sniper rifle for her laser rifle and peered out. The assaultron had its back to her which gave her the opportunity to fire a few shots at its legs. The assaultron staggered, but before it could do anything further, its head exploded.
"Move up!" she heard MacCready yell out. She looked and ran forward to another concrete barrier. Her stomach lurched at the sight of the dead Gunners and she tried to ignore it.
She took a quick look over the top of the barrier as a bullet hit it just inches away, causing a tiny piece of the concrete broke off and hit her face.
"Son of a bitch," she swore as she crawled to the side to see if she could look around that way. She spotted one of the Gunners in a makeshift shack, crouched behind a wall. It was either Winlock or Barnes, she recognised him from the Third Rail. She opted to keep using the laser rifle and crawled to another barrier. He seemed to be preoccupied with trying to locate MacCready, so she crawled a little closer. She shot Winlock/Barnes into a pile of ash. She wrinkled her nose and kept moving forward.
She crawled through a ruined bus and saw MacCready taking shots at two more Gunners, one of whom was in power armour. A destroyed turret on a walkway above them was emitting sparks. Lillian crawled closer, positive they couldn't see her. She picked up an empty bottle and lobbed it towards the shack behind the Gunners. The one in power armour turned, giving her the opportunity to fire a shot at the fusion core. She missed, but MacCready must've figured out what she was trying to do and he quickly shot the fusion core causing the power armour to short circuit. Lillian then took a shot at the Gunner's head, killing him, as MacCready finished off the other one.
There was a moment of silence before she spoke. "Is it done?" she called out. MacCready stood up and kicked at one of the bodies. He turned with a grin and gave her a thumbs up. "Should we take care of the ones on the ground?"
"Nah, they came up when they heard the shooting," he said as she approached, "Already taken care of. And nice job with the distraction."
"Thanks," she tried to look away from the dead bodies.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just... still getting used to this," she gestured to the bodies.
"You're getting good at it."
"That's what scares me," she sighed, "I know this is the world now, but I'm afraid of getting to a point where I just won't care."
"Well, either way, thanks," MacCready made a move towards her, then decided against it. "This should get the Gunners off my back."
"Oh, I'm sure they've heard you loud and clear. Unless you now have a target on your head for taking out this whole spot."
"Pfft, there's nothing to worry about. I mean, with the way these lunatics act you'd think they'd try to hunt me down, but I know better."
"Well, if you're sure. Let's get out of here." Lillian turned to head back to the lift.
"Hey, wait," MacCready grabbed her hand, "Um, I owe you big for this. I mean, you hired me but I dragged you out here."
"Don't worry about it," she smiled, "You needed the help."
"Yeah, well, I like to keep things nice and even, and you're one up on me," he paused for a moment, thinking. "Tell you what, I'll give back the caps you paid me in Goodneighbor. I'll still stick with you because that was the deal, but now we're even."
"That isn't necessary, but if you insist," she squeezed his hand. He squeezed back then let go.
Canigou was still sitting by their packs. Lillian gave him a treat and picked up her pack.
"Where to now, boss?" MacCready asked, kneeling down to pet Canigou.
"Well, I wanted to go to Cambridge. Check in with the Brotherhood squad there."
"Sure thing."
They walked in silence as the sun started to set and Lillian realised they were nearly back to the city. She had been too busy thinking about the people she just killed. Was it really necessary to kill all of them just because a couple of them gave MacCready a hard time? What if they had families somewhere? Was someone's kid about to get the news that their mom or dad was killed for seemingly no reason at all?
"Hey, you okay?" MacCready interrupted her thoughts.
"Hm? Yeah. Just thinking."
"You sure think a lot."
"Can't help it, sometimes it's the only way I can ensure an intelligent conversation."
"Wow. Thanks."
"I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I sometimes understand things better if I work it out myself."
"Gotcha."
They walked for a few more minutes when Canigou started growling.
"What is it, boy?" Lillian asked him. They listened and didn't hear anything. They crept forward, Canigou still growling towards some houses to the right.
"What's that? A sound?" a loud, gruff voice called out.
"Super mutants," MacCready hissed at Lillian. He nodded towards the trees on the other side of the road and gestured for her to follow.
"Canigou, come," she whispered loudly to her dog. But Canigou was still growling towards the houses. "Canigou! Here!"
"I knew it!" A super mutant appeared from around the house, "Gonna tear you apart!" The mutant started shooting as Canigou barked and leapt towards it.
"Shit!" Lillian fumbled with her laser rifle, panicking. MacCready shot the super mutant dead and they watched Canigou disappear behind the house. "Canigou!" Lillian yelled and ran after him.
She turned the corner in time to see a mutant hit Canigou with its sledgehammer. Canigou cried out in pain as he skid across the road. Lillian saw only red as she opened fire on the remaining super mutants. When they were all reduced to piles of ash, she ran over to her dog who was writhing on the ground and whimpering.
"Oh god, it's okay, boy," she pet him reassuringly, but looking worried at his mangled leg.
"Aw, shit, I'm sorry," MacCready stood next to her, "Do you want me to... um..."
"To what?"
"Um.. take care of it?" he gripped his rifle slightly.
"What? No!" she yelled. She dropped her laser rifle and removed her backpack, then carefully picked up Canigou. "Come on, we have to help him!" She ran back down the road, leaving a trail of blood from Canigou's broken leg.
MacCready grabbed her laser rifle, picked up her pack, and tried to keep up with her. It was difficult, she was running so fast even though she was carrying a large dog. He followed her across the bridge and towards Cambridge.
Knight Rhys entered the police station after his evening shift and yawned.
"Anything to report, Knight?" Paladin Danse asked him.
"No, sir," Rhys replied with a salute, "All is quiet."
"Good, I-" Danse was interrupted by the door bursting open. He and Rhys whipped out their laser pistols to see Lillian rush in, covered in blood, and holding her dog who was whining in pain.
"My dog's been hurt, please, I need help!" she cried. Haylen rushed in from her room, having heard the commotion. "Haylen, you have to help him!"
"I'm not a vet," Haylen said apologetically.
"Please try!" Lillian begged.
Haylen looked over at Danse who nodded. "Do what you can."
"Alright, this way," Haylen led Lillian into one of the interrogation rooms where Canigou was set down gently on the table. He was still whimpering in pain. Lillian cried as she pet him as Haylen went to retrieve her medical supplies.
"Sir, we need those supplies for us!" Rhys argued with Danse.
"We'll figure something out," Danse looked towards the interrogation room, worried. Lillian's dog seemed to be in pretty bad shape and may not survive. But he could comfort her should that happen. Then she could stay and he can keep her safe.
As Haylen returned to the room to start working on Canigou, the door opened again. Danse and Rhys aimed their weapon at this newcomer entering.
"Jesus, this is where Lillian is, right? About yea high, red hair, carrying a gigantic dog like it weighed nothing?" the man panted.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Danse demanded.
"First off, you can get that thing out of my face," MacCready pointed at their guns, "Second, you can tell me where Lillian is."
"You did not answer my questions and you better answer them before I have you thrown out!"
"I'm with Lillian and that's all you need to know!" MacCready shouted.
"Answer the damn questions, wastelander!" Rhys yelled.
"Wastelander?! How about-"
"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP?" Lillian stormed into the lobby, startling them, "MY DOG MIGHT DIE AND THE LAST THING I WANT HIM TO HEAR IS YOU ASSHOLES SHOUTING, SO TAKE YOUR DICK-MEASURING CONTEST OUTSIDE!" She turned and rushed back to the interrogation-turned-surgery room before they could say anything.
"You're going to let her talk to you like that?" Rhys asked Danse.
"It's fine." Danse turned to MacCready. "I'm going to take your word that you are associated with Lillian, seeing as you're carrying her pack."
"Gosh, how generous," MacCready rolled his eyes and sat down.
Nearly two hours later, Danse and MacCready were still glaring at each other from across the room, while Rhys stood nearby with his laser pistol. Haylen entered the lobby, covered in blood and wiping off her hands.
"Well?" Danse took his eyes off MacCready.
Haylen sighed. "I think he'll live. But I had to amputate his leg. It was too far gone to be fixed."
MacCready immediately picked up his and Lillian's packs and headed back. Danse felt a surge of jealousy rush through him. He should be the one going to see Lillian, not some mercenary.
"How is she?" he asked Haylen.
"Upset, but relieved."
"And how much of our medical supplies did you waste on the mutt?" Rhys demanded.
"She said she was going to bring us supplies to replace them and more," Haylen sat down, "And before you say anything, yes, I believe her."
Rhys scowled as Danse nodded and finally headed out to do his patrol. He wondered if Lillian was any closer to finding her son. Probably not if she was accompanied by such a miscreant. He knew their type, only helping in exchange for money or... other things. But surely she wouldn't sink so low. She wasn't that desperate, was she? He should've made sure she had enough caps to get her by, why didn't he think of that before? Dammit.
The night was quiet, so when he went back inside, he got out of his power armour down in the motorpool. At least he didn't need to repair anything today. They were running low on supplies to repair his power armour. They couldn't fix his helmet, which had short circuited some time after he was blasted by the rocket engine at ArcJet. He tinkered with it a bit, but wasn't sure what else he could do with what little they had. Haylen suggested it needed new wiring, which they certainly didn't have just laying around.
It was quiet when he headed upstairs to get something to drink. He looked into the lockup, as he had done ever since Lillian had left, only this time she was there again. She was asleep, holding Canigou close who was bandaged up and missing his front left leg. But that mercenary was there too, asleep behind Lillian and holding her like they were something more. Anger rose up and he left to the lobby.
"Everything okay, sir?" Haylen asked, looking up from the book she was reading.
"Hm? Yes, fine," he replied, sitting down.
Haylen stared at him for a moment. "They're just friends."
"What?"
"Lillian and MacCready. They're just friends." Haylen smiled slightly.
"Fine. That's... fine."
"Uh huh." Haylen didn't return to reading her book.
"What?"
Haylen didn't say anything but smirked slightly as she looked back down at her book. "Nothing."
Danse narrowed his eyes, then decided to do his rounds again. He went downstairs, willing himself to not look in the lockup, and put his power armour on. He headed outside, wishing something would happen to keep his mind off Lillian and her... friend. He didn't trust this MacCready and he was sure Lillian had gotten herself into something she can't handle.
He spent the rest of the night working out how to talk to her about making friends with more appropriate people and staying safe. First, he'd need to get her alone but what would his excuse be? He didn't need to think of one as he returned back to the motorpool to see her, alone, sitting cross-legged on the floor with his power armour helmet in her lap.
"Hi," she greeted him, looking up from the helmet. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying.
"You're up early," he said, getting out of his power armour. "What are you doing?"
"Haylen said your helmet hasn't worked since we got back from ArcJet," she picked up a small pair of pliers, "So I'm seeing what I can do."
"She said we didn't have replacement wires," he frowned.
"You don't need them," she said, leaning closer to the helmet. "It's not quite that bad, just need to redirect some of the circuitry that weren't fried."
"How do you know these things?" he leaned against the wall across from her, "I thought you were a dancer."
"Heh, my granddad insisted I learn," she looked up with a small smile, "My parents were quite wealthy and pretty much spoiled me. But my granddad taught me about electrics, plumbing, fixing cars, that sort of thing."
"But, why?"
"Probably to keep me grounded. When my parents had parties, my granddad couldn't stand their other wealthy friends while they talked about hiring people just to fix a leak or a blown fuse. So he taught me what he could so I could fix most things myself."
"Smart man."
"That he was," Lillian sighed and leaned back, "I miss him."
"Was he still..." Danse stopped.
"Was he still alive when the bombs dropped?" she looked up at him, "Yes."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Yeah," she looked back down at the helmet, made a few more adjustments, then held it up. "Want to see if it works now?"
Danse took it and attached it to his power armour suit. He entered it and was surprised and pleased to see his helmet's hud light up. He exited the power armour with a smile.
"You'll have to teach Haylen how to do that," he said.
"It's just simple redirection," she shrugged.
"So, um, how's your dog?"
"He's okay. Haylen did really well. He suffered a fair bit of blood loss, but hopefully it won't be too much of a problem. He hasn't gone into shock so we're hoping it'll sort itself out."
"Hopefully. I don't think human blood packs will work for dogs."
"Probably not." She stood up and stretched her arms towards the ceiling.
He pulled her in, holding her close. She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek.
"Please stay," he whispered, before kissing her.
"I will," she kissed him back.
A whistle interrupted his thoughts.
"Hello? You still with me?" Lillian waved her hand in front of his face.
"Hm? Yeah, just... yeah." He could feel his face getting hot.
"I'm going back upstairs," she yawned.
"Wait! Um, that man you're with, how did you meet him?"
"Oh right, I haven't introduced you properly. MacCready, I hired him in Goodneighbor. Good thing, too, I still have a lot to learn out here."
"He... he hasn't taken advantage of you. has he?"
"Nah, we've been splitting the payout from some jobs. Though he gave back the caps I paid because I helped him with a little problem."
"Problem? What kind of problem?" Danse demanded.
"Gunners, just a few of them," she shuddered, "I'm still trying to get used to having to fight other people."
"Gunners? Are you okay? You weren't hurt, were you?" He then noticed the small cut on her face. "How did you get that? Was it because of him?"
"I'm fine," Lillian frowned slightly as she touched the cut, "A bullet hit the concrete barrier I was behind and some of the concrete hit me. I'm fine. Really. MacCready taught me some things about shooting. And your laser rifle has helped a lot too."
"Good. Don't want you getting hurt out there."
"Seems kind of inevitable, eh? Anyway, I'm going to try to get a bit of extra sleep." She smiled at him in a way that made his heart flutter and left the motorpool.
Dammit.