Chapter 5

The Tenpenny Tower Reunion

The trip to the Memorial was less dangerous than Sandra had expected.

There weren't many mutants around, so the three of them made short work of them, and Bryan even managed to kill two of them all by himself. He was noticeably shaken, but he wore an odd little smile on his face that reminded Sandra of herself. He would get used to it, just like she did.

When they finally reached the purifier, Sandra marveled at the machine before noticing the three holodiscs on the computer console.

She inserted them into her pip-boy and listened to each of them very closely; it was the voice of her father, talking about his intentions of finding something called a GECK and fixing Project Purity. The end of the last log stated that he was heading into the wasteland to find Vault 112 to find a scientist who supposedly knew about the Garden Of Eden Creation Kit, the GECK.

It was soothing to hear her father's voice again.

Sandra continued staring into her pip-boy long after the last recording had stopped playing, wishing it would keep going, wishing that her father would keep speaking to her...

"Come on, guys," she finally told her two companions.

Sandra led them out of the Memorial and headed for the wasteland away from the city. Being trapped within the walls of rubble was growing tiresome, anyway. She couldn't wait to hit the roads again and get away from the Capital's center.

There was no telling where Vault 112 was. The trail was cold. And who could she possibly ask? Who would know? And where were the major cities in the wasteland, anyway?

How was she supposed to know where to go from here...?

They wandered the wastes for hours before anyone bothered to speak.

"Mistress, where are we going?" Charon asked.

Sandra halted and spun around, glaring up at him from only inches away. Charon stopped walking so abruptly he nearly ran into her.

"Thank you," she said.

"Thank you…?" Charon muttered oddly.

"Yes. Thank you for not asking my permission to speak," Sandra explained, then turned and began walking again.

"Mhm… okay… but that doesn't answer my question." Charon sighed as he examined their environment. "Where're we going?"

"We're going to that vault, right? So where is it?" Bryan asked, almost jogging to keep up with Charon's long strides.

"I don't know," Sandra mumbled irritably. "We'll find it eventually."

A silence fell as they all continued marching through the wasteland, unknowing which direction they were headed or what they'd cross paths with.

When the sun began to set, Sandra had become more and more agitated that she didn't know where she was going, and decided it best to seek shelter in the nearby scrapyard until morning. She and her friends had been walking all day, and she figured their muscles were aching just like hers were.

Upon entering the scrapyard, however, Sandra heard gunfire and whipped out her 44. They all walked with their firearms at the ready until they spotted the raiders, all shooting at a single animal.

It was a baby yao guai, and it was rushing the raiders one by one, tearing into their legs and bringing them down with ease. After the tiny bear managed to kill all of its attackers, it turned and bared its teeth at the newcomers.

"Open fire—"

"Wait!" Sandra held up and hand and motioned for Charon to hold his fire.

She then sat on a single knee and slowly waved for the creature to approach her.

The baby yao guai was whimpering, limping due to an injured paw, and Sandra caught a glimmer of reflected light around its neck. The small beast was wearing a collar of some kind. It was somebody's pet.

"Did they get your owner, boy? Did they kill your master?" Sandra asked it.

The mutant bear cub collapsed onto its stomach only a foot away from her, panting and whining. Sandra grasped the collar and gave the shiny tag a thorough examination.

"It says Thrash. Your name's Thrash?" Sandra said kindly. "Your owner thought of a good name for you. Suits you."

Thrash's tongue escaped from between his sharp teeth and began licking Sandra's fingers. Sandra allowed the beast to taste her skin, then gave him a few tender pets on the head.

Somehow or another, she'd completely forgotten about her lack of leads to Vault 112 now; all she could think about was this adorable creature sitting before her.

A bit of time passed before anyone spoke again.

"Mistress..."

Sandra's gaze was lost in the campfire.

Bryan had already drifted to sleep on an old mattress, and Thrash the yao guai was lying tiredly in her lap with a gauze wrap coiled tightly around his hurt paw.

"This place is not safe," Charon told her. "We shouldn't have made camp in a place that was inhabited by raiders."

"All the raiders are dead. We just need to sleep, we'll be out of here first thing when the sun comes up," Sandra assured.

Charon didn't say anything. His tall body was hunched over as he sat in the dirt, his sunglasses having been removed and his eyes shining with the dancing of the flames.

Sandra simply observed him for a moment.

"You don't have any idea where Vault 112 is, do you?" she wondered.

Charon perked one of his partially intact eyebrows at her. "No. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I guess it's not normal to have grown up in a vault..." Sandra sighed. "Where did you grow up, anyway?"

At hearing this, Charon's stony expression became even harder than usual. "I don't remember."

"Really?" Sandra asked, sounding astonished. "Was it that long ago?"

"Probably."

"How old are you?"

"Don't know."

"You don't know...?"

"No."

Sandra stared incredibly at him.

Charon was such a mystery, with so much wisdom and anger in his eyes. He was a compassionate soul underneath, and she was certain of it, but circumstances always seemed to fashion him into a killer somehow or another.

Something Ahzrukhal once said played through her mind.

Charon came from an interesting group of individuals. They... well... I guess you could say they brainwashed him.

That was the only thing Sandra knew about his past, nothing else.

And—she'd been chipping away at that brainwashing since the very first day she met him, hoping to ease him out of it over time. It seemed to be making slow, steady progress, though the apparent grave severity of his past still managed to disturb her.

She wanted to pry, to ask more, to know every detail about her best friend, but she couldn't know how he'd react.

There was, however, at least one thing she did feel comfortable asking him right now.

"Charon," Sandra said softly. "How come you almost never sleep?"

Charon leaned back on his arms and met her eyes, seeming to study her rather intensely.

Thrash had rolled onto his back and was now sleeping into the dirt, which allowed Sandra to pull her legs closer and hug them as she waited for Charon's response.

"Well... Mistress... my job is to assist you in combat and defend you all hours of the day. And… I can't very well do that if we're both asleep at the same time," he explained.

"But you never sleep. We don't sleep in shifts. You just... you just stay up most of the time," Sandra knew. "How can you go with no sleep like that?"

"Because I'm accustomed to it. Ahzrukhal wouldn't have me sleep nights. I was needed to keep an eye on the Ninth Circle during its busy hours," Charon informed. "And, sometimes, I traveled and did his dirty work during the day. So… I simply stayed awake most of the time."

"But how…?" Sandra questioned. "The other ghouls in Underworld all had beds. They all slept like normal people. How can you stay awake so long?"

"Mistress… please," Charon sighed and looked away. "Just don't."

"But I wanna know. I need to," Sandra pestered on. "Tell me."

"Enough," Charon snapped, scowling at the fire.

"Tell me."

"Mistress..."

"Tell me."

"Mistress, I don't..."

"Please?"

Charon turned and faced her again, and he stared into her profoundly. Somehow, she still had that innocent look about her, and he felt as if her gaze had suddenly disarmed him somehow.

He let out a long, rumbling growl.

"With his help," Charon answered forcefully. "I stayed awake with his help. Ahzrukhal kept me awake with his supply."

Sandra took a moment to piece it together. "You're on jet?"

Charon looked away again, avoiding her eyes.

"It's necessary," he responded. "I need to be awake."

"Do you have jet with you now?" Sandra asked him, glimpsing at his backpack. "How have you been getting it?"

"You've been paying me… that's how. I just buy chems whenever we stop in a town somewhere," Charon told her. "My body isn't as fragile as yours. You really don't need to worry about it—"

"Nooo—no no no," Sandra griped, shaking her head and swatting the air, glaring fixedly into him. "No more."

Charon glared at her. "What do you mean, no more?"

"I mean I'll get you off of it," Sandra retorted.

"Oh, for God's sake—"

"No. No. No!" Sandra spoke so loudly her voice made Bryan turn in his sleep. "No. More."

Charon's teeth grinded as he stared at her silently.

He couldn't know how to respond; most times, no one bothered to care about his health. And, being a ghoul, much of his health had long since escaped him, anyway. Yet still, for whatever reason, she simply seemed adamant.

"Well. Then who's gonna look after you when you sleep?" Charon asked.

"Nobody," Sandra shrugged. "Except Thrash. Thrash'll wake us up if anything happens."

"You're really not utilizing me properly," Charon said bluntly. "I recognize that I'm your equal in your eyes, but I'm here for combat. I'm meant to be awake and alert, and I'm meant to kill anything that gets the jump on us. I don't need anybody babying me, okay? I've been doing this for a long damn time. I think I know how to by now."

Sandra stared at him sadly, her ocean blue eyes beginning to water.

"No… you don't." Her tone cracked when she spoke. "Because... you're a human being first and a bodyguard second, stupid. That's what being an equal means."

Charon grimaced at her. He spotted the look in her eyes, knowing that the tears were about to come, and he suddenly felt a spark of dread at them.

"I won't be able to fulfill my contractual obligations if you want me to sleep nights, Mistress. That's all I'm saying," he said in a voice he intended to sound sincere. "Don't… don't fucking cry, all right? It's not a big deal. Christ. It's just a contract."

"I don't care." Sandra told him breathlessly. "I don't care about the contract... I care about you."

Charon's mouth drifted agape, suddenly falling speechless.

"Just let me try. Okay?" Sandra asked. "Just... just let me try and get you off that stuff. I like seeing you sleep. You deserve to rest sometimes. It makes me happy when you do…"

They stared at one another for what felt like hours.

At long last, Charon let out a raspy groan.

"Fine," he said. "Whatever you like."

Sandra smiled at him.

"All right," she murmured. "Lay on that other mattress and try to get some sleep."

"What… now?" Charon asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, now. Lay down."

"But I—"

"Just do it."

"Mis—"

"Do iiit!"

Charon huffed at her, then turned and laid his long muscular body across the nearest mattress. He lay on his side with his arms folded and his face scrunched up almost like a pouting child.

"No," he told her. "I haven't taken any tonight."

"Good. Then sleep." Sandra said happily. "You'll be fine. I promise."

That was a promise she silently vowed to uphold, no matter what.

"You all right?"

Sandra, Charon, Bryan and Thrash had been walking across the wasteland since morning. When one pm struck, Sandra noticed that Charon looked slightly more lethargic than usual.

"Hmngh?" Charon grunted.

Sandra glanced up at him. They were marching side-by-side, as they often did, and their height difference was especially apparent now.

"You look tired. Did you get any sleep?"

"Some."

"How much?"

"Not much. But some."

A heavy cloud of breath escaped her. After a moment of thought, she determined that he was sleepy due to his lack of stimulants. He was used to having a constant adrenaline boost in his system, and he'd have to adjust to living without it from now on—but, she knew of a rather decent substitute that might help to tie him over.

Sandra pulled one of the Nukacolas from her bag and handed it to Charon. It wasn't an ordinary Nuka, but a Nukacola Quantum, with twice the caffeine as a regular one.

Charon somehow popped the cap off of the bottle with one effortless thumb movement, then took three long gulps of the glowing blue soda.

"Holy..." Sandra gasped, holding up a hand and shielding her eyes from the sunlight. "What is that?"

They'd all just reached the top of a hill—and in the near distance Sandra spotted a humongous white tower. The building, unlike most prewar structures, was hardly damaged at all. It was the tallest and most pristine building Sandra had ever seen, and it was most certainly the most attention-grabbing thing in the otherwise vacant wasteland ahead.

"Looks like bait to me," Charon grumbled. "That, or it's just an obnoxious 'fuck you' to anybody who can't afford to live there. Damn thing looks like a big-ass middle finger aimed at the rest of the wasteland…"

"What makes you think anybody pays to live there?" Sandra asked curiously.

"Look at the place, Mistress. It's huge, and it's gotta be damn stable if it survived the war... not to mention the two hundred years of anarchy following it. Whoever's camped out there is real damn cozy and real damn selfish, I'd bet you anything," Charon ranted.

Sandra made a sideways nod. "Aw'right. Let's check it out."

It took a good half an hour for them to reach the building, and it looked even taller up close. From directly underneath, it almost looked like it could scrape the sky.

Sandra led her friends up to the main entrance. It was a double-doored gateway, and it appeared to be sealed shut, while the rest of the building was surrounded by a nine-foot stone wall. The gate was the only way inside.

Just when Sandra was about to pick the lock, the sound of a ghoulish voice caught her attention, but it wasn't Charon.

To the left of the gate was a rusty intercom, and another leather-armored ghoul was arguing with one of the tower's representatives through it.

"I already told you," a human man's voice erupted from the speaker. "Tenpenny won't allow zombies to live here."

"Who the hell're you calling a zombie?" the ghoul snarled. "Can't you tell the difference between me and a feral? We have caps. Loads of 'em. Just let us in, goddammit."

"No. Zombies. Allowed," the voice slowly replied in a condescending manner. "Now get the fuck away from the gates before we come out there and remove you."

"Fine. You can't tell the difference between me and a monster? I'll show you the goddamn difference," the ghoul threatened in a furious rasp. "You'll get yours. All of you!"

At that, the ghoul turned and marched away, his hands balled into fists and his blueish face crinkled in anger.

Sandra wanted to go after him, but it probably wouldn't be a smart thing to do. That ghoul looked furious enough to plant a bullet in the first smoothskin that might dare to look him in the eyes.

"Told you," Charon uttered, crossing his arms and scratching his chin. "Bigots."

"What is this place? Why won't they let ghouls inside?" Sandra mumbled. "Hang on..."

The vaultie strolled up to the intercom and hammered her finger onto the button.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Get your no good flesh-rotten asses off our goddamn doorstep!" a man's voice exploded from the speaker.

"Is that how you treat all your guests?" Sandra asked casually. "Very charming, asswipe."

"Wha—? Oh no, no no no... just those damn zombies," the man replied, suddenly sounding calm. "Welcome to Tenpenny Tower. What's your business?"

Sandra blinked, pausing to think. She could've sworn she'd heard the name 'Tenpenny Tower' somewhere before…

"I'm uh..." she began. "I'm here to see Mr. Tenpenny?"

The man let out a chortling laugh. "That's rich, kid. Hit the road."

"Don't give me that crap! I..." Sandra looked around, almost as though she expected a good excuse to appear in her surroundings somewhere.

She very much wanted to enter the tower and get to the bottom of this ghoul business, but how was she supposed to get through the front doors first?

"I... I'm a representative for an independent settlement across the Capital."

"Oh-hoh really? And what settlement might that be?"

"Megaton."

"Oh yeah? I thought Megaton was supposed to go up in flames. You here to bitch about that?"

Sandra narrowed her eyes at the intercom, wondering how he could have possibly known such a thing. Unless…

"Yeah—I don't take kindly to people trying to blow up my town," Sandra retorted. "I just wanna talk business with Mr. Tenpenny. I have a town full of angry settlers, and I'm pretty sure you don't want a pissed off militia of armed Megatoners coming here and shooting up the place, do you?"

"Now... hold on. Let's not get rash here. I'm opening the gates, all right? Keep your panties on," the man responded—and seconds later, Sandra heard the gates begin to slide open. "But you're the only one who can come in. Your buddies will have to wait outside."

"I'll be back as soon as possible," Sandra told Charon and Bryan. "Go find us a good camping spot around here, I'll meet you there. Charon, you still have that walkie-talkie I got you, right?"

Charon pulled the radio-like device off of his belt and gave it a strange look. "Yes. Don't have any idea how to use it, but..."

"That's okay. You'll hear me if I need to contact you. I'll be back soon."

Sandra smiled at them, then turned and marched through the gates of Tenpenny Tower, Charon and Bryan watching as she vanished from their presence.

Feeling proud of her impulsive lie about Megaton's angry settlers, Sandra strode into the place like it was her long lost home. Her sunglasses reflected the sunlight's glare and she was wearing her leather Tunnelsnakes jacket halfway zipped over top of her gothic tank top and black cargo pants. She looked like a big shot, and she was trying her damnedest to act like one.

The front of the building was guarded by many men in tan combat armor, all of them giving her strange looks.

Sandra pushed the double-doors open and stepped inside.

It was remarkable; every corner of the interior was spotless. The entrance was decorated with a long elegant rug, and in the center of the place hung a gigantic chandelier. Many well-dressed men and women were walking around and speaking politely to one another. It was almost too formal for Sandra's tastes, but nevertheless, it was refreshing to enter a place that was well taken care of.

The front counter was manned by one of the combat armored soldiers. He looked up at her expectantly when she approached him.

"Yes?"

"I'm here to see Tenpenny," Sandra said.

"Tch. Yeah right," the man grumped, looking her up and down. "What, you his bastard daughter or something?"

Sandra stared at him. "No. I'm a representative of the town he tried to destroy."

"Yeeeah, well, look... I'm pretty sure he doesn't give a good goddamn about your little town. So why don't you just—"

"Megaton," an eerie voice interrupted. "A Megaton representative... and you're about to turn her away? Shame on you, Gustavo."

Sandra felt a strange static-like sensation slither down her spine.

She knew that voice...

The man named Gustavo turned in his seat.

Another man wearing a fitted tan suit was approaching him from behind, just after stepping out of the elevator. Part of his face was hidden beneath the rim of his prewar hat, and his eyes stared at Gustavo from behind his dark sunglasses. He allowed a wicked smile to form over his face when he met eyes with the lone wanderer, and Sandra recognized him immediately.

"Forgive Gustavo, my dear. He doesn't recognize your... significance," Mr. Burke told her. "But I, on the other hand… have been anxious to meet you again."

"Mr. Burke..." Sandra exhaled.

"In the flesh," Mr. Burke replied smoothly. "Come with me, my dear. If you'd like to discuss business."

"I wanna talk to Mr. Tenpenny."

"That won't do you any good, dear."

"Why not?"

"Because you're talking with Mr. Tenpenny's adviser right now."

"So?"

"So... to put it simply...I am his decision maker," Burke told her. "Whatever you have to discuss, you can discuss with me. Come now... I know a certain protectron that's very skilled at serving mixed drinks."

Sandra frowned. She didn't like the idea of talking with Mr. Burke about anything important, not after their tense confrontation back in Megaton all those weeks ago. Still, if he was being truthful—and if he was, in fact, Tenpenny's decision maker—then perhaps discussing business with him was the only logical option. Maybe Charon was right. Maybe the leader of this wealthy establishment, Tenpenny, really was just a selfish rich guy who didn't care about politics or ordinary wastelanders at all. And if that was the case, Burke was quite possibly the better choice between the two.

So, Sandra allowed Mr. Burke to lead her down a hallway, into the bar of Tenpenny Tower. They both sat beside one another, and the protectron behind the counter, whose name was apparently Shakes, began taking their orders.

Naturally, Sandra ordered her favorite hard alcoholic beverage of all time, the Nukarum.

Mr. Burke made an intrigued face. He'd never heard of Nukarum before, and he decided to give it a try.

Sandra swallowed two Nukarum's with no difficulty. Mr. Burke had offered to pay for the drinks, and she was taking advantage of it in full. She didn't speak until she was sipping on her third rum, and Burke was watching her with raised brows. It was staggering to watch such a young girl inhale liquor so quickly.

"Megaton is fine, by the way… I deactivated the bomb," Sandra uttered with a laugh.

"I see. Then why are you here?" Burke wondered.

"I'm trying to find a vault, and I came across this place along the way. But the reason I wanted to talk to Tenpenny was because of the ghouls," Sandra answered. "That ghoul that was standing outside and yelling at the intercom..."

"Ah." Mr. Burke nodded. "That is their leader. His name is Roy Phillips. Stubborn one."

"Why aren't they allowed inside?" Sandra asked, turning her head and meeting the man's gaze.

"Because they're ghouls," Burke replied simply. "When Tenpenny and Gustavo and I first arrived here, we were forced to clear out a mess of ferals. We don't generally welcome those sorts of horrible mutants in here. No... this place is meant to be a safe haven away from all that."

"But they aren't feral," Sandra told him. "They're just like regular people. They're harmless."

"Harmless?" Mr. Burke hit a high note that sounded strange coming out of him.

"Yeah, harmless. My best friend is a ghoul," Sandra said straightly. "And he wouldn't lay a finger on me."

"Well that may be, but the same can't be said for Roy Phillips. No... and Mr. Tenpenny has a high standard for the people he allows to live here. I'm afraid your ghoul friends don't fit that standard," Mr. Burke explained. "Why is it you're speaking on their behalf, anyway? Have you even spoken two words to these ghouls? Are you their representative as well as Megaton's?"

Sandra pondered on this, thinking of no real response.

Mr. Burke was eyeing her.

"No..." he said softly, seeming to read the answer off of her expression. "Don't tell me... you've just adopted their problems on a whim, haven't you? You're trying to save them, for absolutely no reason whatsoever... just like you did for Megaton. I can't for the life of me fathom why you do these things, my dear. Isn't it stressful to work for no pay? To go out of your way, and not even have a single 'thank you' from the people you rescue?"

Sandra shrugged. "Someone has to."

"Do they?" Mr. Burke questioned almost genuinely. "Or is that a rule you simply invented?"

"Would it matter?" Sandra challenged. "It's still true. I don't like the world not caring about stuff that matters."

Mr. Burke stared into his half-full Nukarum for a moment. "Huh. How interesting..."

"Yeah. Whatever," Sandra mumbled, turning her bottle up and chugging the rest of its contents. "Another one please."

"You're going to rot your liver drinking that way," Mr. Burke commented. "That's really quite reckless."

"So is blowing up towns." Sandra replied. "One more. Please?"

"Yes, very well. Have however many you like," Mr. Burke agreed with a faint half-smile. "Anything to please you."

Sandra powered through her fourth Nukarum.

Once she started on her fifth, she finally began to slow down, as her blood was becoming warm, and the room almost looked like it was attempting to move around her...

"Do you know... I've been wondering something, ever since the day we met."

Mr. Burke's hand slid over top of Sandra's, his fingers coiling around hers tenderly.

"I've been wondering... my dear... have you been receiving my letters?"

Sandra blinked. "You've been sending me mail?"

"Oh yes. I suppose you're not home very often, if you haven't been getting them..." Mr. Burke muttered. "Ah... but no matter, no matter. I suppose that gives me the opportunity to… convey my thoughts to you in person."

A charming grin crawled across his face as he stared into her, his thumb stroking her skin lightly.

Sandra's heart began to pound.

A small panic forming in the pit of her gut, she drank her fifth Nukarum in four swift gulps and slammed the empty bottle onto the table with her free hand.

"Impressive," Mr. Burke remarked. "And… I meant what I said back then. You really are refreshingly different."

Sandra flushed. It was nice to hear so many compliments, but another part of her felt urgent, as if she simply had to distance herself right now…

With no forethought available anymore, Sandra stood from her stool. The ground could have shifted its position, or perhaps, her legs simply decided to stop working... somehow, the bar was blurring around her, and she suddenly felt as though she'd fallen asleep...

"There, there. Easy does it."

Mr. Burke was on his feet now, embracing Sandra and holding her upright.

She lay against him uselessly, wanting to break away from his grasp, but she couldn't find the strength, her head light and lost to a total daze.

"I thought you might have been a little inexperienced with the drink… but you've breached your limitations much more drastically than I imagined," Mr. Burke said with a glint of amusement in his tone. "I believe I'll have to... you know... cut you off. Come on. Off we go."

Burke draped one of Sandra's arms around his shoulders and began escorting her out of the bar.

It was irritating to know that Mr. Burke was supporting her almost completely by himself now; she wouldn't have been able to walk if he hadn't been. How did she become so pathetic?

They stepped into the elevator and rode to the highest floor.

Mr. Burke took Sandra through the hallways of the wealthiest suites, everything around her seeming faded and hazy, distorted and dreamlike as he continued to carry her onward.

Once they arrived at his room, he cautiously pulled his key from his suit pocket, opened the door, entered the room, then shut the door with one of his feet.

He gently released Sandra in front of his bed, allowing her to collapse onto his blankets and stare blearily up at the ceiling.

"I'm quite fond of these down blankets," Mr. Burke informed her as he sank onto the bed beside her. "Comfortable, aren't they?"

Sandra continued gazing upward, all thoughts and words having evaded her.

Mr. Burke sat a foot away, looking down at her with an unreadable expression. "Now… I thought you came to discuss business."

"I did..." Sandra breathed. "I want the ghouls to live here..."

Mr. Burke sighed. "And that... that, I don't understand. I can't comprehend why you're so intent on helping them."

Sandra turned her head slightly, her ominous blue eyes resting on him.

"Because that's what I do," she replied. "That's all I do…"

Mr. Burke let out another long breath, but it wasn't out of annoyance or frustration. He simply couldn't comprehend that somebody like her existed in the world at all.

He knew she was as tough as nails—he'd received quite a beating from her the day he met her in Megaton—but somehow or another, the girl managed to maintain that innocent, helpful disposition, and she seemed to be driven entirely by the idea of helping others.

How could anyone survive the wasteland with an ideology like that?

"Amazing."

He let the word slip out before he could stop himself.

Then, he found himself on his knees, and before he knew it, he was hunched over the girl, almost mounting her. He peered down at her face, which was now only inches away from his own, his sunglasses attempting to slide down from his nose.

"You are... so... very… alien to me..."

Mr. Burke lay warmly on top of her now, his fingers easefully swiping a few loose bangs from her face. He leaned closer, and as Sandra had anxiously anticipated, he planted a soft, delicate kiss on her lips.

When he separated from her, he felt one of her hands grasp him firmly by the wrist.

"Don't..." Sandra murmured weakly.

Mr. Burke stared at her for a moment.

"Of course, my dear," he replied in a voice too kind for him. "I wouldn't dream of doing anything against your will."

He placed a hand on her face, her cheek feeling soft and warm to the touch.

"You're a gem," Burke said with a smile. "You're simply impossible."

Sandra managed a smirk. "You wouldn't like that about me if you didn't value good in people..."

Mr. Burke seemed to think about this for a few seconds.

Then, he lay on his side next to her, resting his face on one of his hands and making a profound expression.

"Who do you think you are, walking into my life and making me reflect upon myself?" Mr. Burke said with a laugh. "Oh… all right... very well. I'll speak to Tenpenny about the ghouls, and I'd like you to accompany me when I do. After you sleep off your indulgences, of course."

He delivered a final stroke of affection along her cheek, sliding two fingers down her face timidly, then stood and left the room as quietly as he could.

Sandra fell into a deep sleep before she could think twice.

"Is she coming back?"

Bryan asked as he sat across the campfire from Charon. They were camped within sight of Tenpenny Tower, and it most of the night had come and gone. The sun would rise any minute now; Bryan had just woken up. Charon hadn't slept.

"I don't know. I'm assuming so." Charon replied emptily. He didn't like being alone with the kid, but it wasn't because he had anything against Bryan. He simply didn't know how to talk to a child. "They ain't gonna let us into the tower. They don't like ghouls. All we can do is wait for her to come back."

Despite saying this, Charon vaguely remembered seeing the guards outside of the tower and wondered if he could take them all down by himself. He could fight his way into the tower if he had to. He'd get to kill a lot of ghoul-hating bigots and secure the safety of his mistress at the same time. In his eyes, it was a win-win. But he suspected that Sandra would see it differently. For some reason, she always tried to take the diplomatic route to problem solving. That wasn't something he was accustomed to. He liked to let his shotgun do the talking.

The flames flickered in front of him. Charon held out his hands and tried to warm them. He still had the shakes from lowering his doses of jet. The withdrawal was getting to him, and if Sandra didn't return soon, he might be tempted to sneak a hit before she could find out...

He didn't have time. His mistress would return to him sooner than he thought.

Sandra awoke in a daze inside of Mr. Burke's suite. She wandered around the tower, and eventually, she ran into Mr. Burke in one of the hallways.

"My dear, you've slept well, haven't you? I can tell." Burke patted her frazzled hairs down in order to make it less messy. Sandra had been walking around with bedhead. "Are you ready to speak to Tenpenny? I've already given him a general synopsis of your standing. He would like to hear from you directly now."

"Yup. Thanks for letting me borrow your bed. Sorry I was hogging your room all night." Sandra smiled. It was strange, but she didn't seem to hate Mr. Burke so much anymore. He was still a creepy, shady bastard who was undoubtedly capable of doing wicked things when he wanted to, but so far, he hadn't shown any hostility toward her at all.

"My pleasure." Mr. Burke kissed her hand. "Come, I'll escort you to his balcony. He likes the view. Watching over the wasteland is the closest thing to entertainment he has, I'm afraid. The same can be said for the rest of us, truthfully..."

When they reached the balcony, an old man in a red suit, who Sandra assumed must have been Mr. Tenpenny, looked up at her expectantly. Sandra tried not to get distracted by the magnificent view. The sun was rising over the Capital; it looked strangely beautiful, despite it being a post apocalyptic wasteland.

"Mr. Tenpenny, this is Sandra. The Megaton representative... and the spokesperson for the ghouls." Mr. Burke said, cupping his hands together. "And, if you've listened to your radio lately, sir, you will have heard the latest news about Vault 101... I believe the second person to escape the vault was referred to as the lone wanderer, or something of the like. The lone wanderer was responsible for repairing the satellite and fighting through a horde of supermutants to do so, and is also known to free captured victims from the mutants on occasion. Sandra, here, is that lone wanderer. I believe she is a fully capable negotiator. She has proven to be very competent."

"Ah, yes, yes." Tenpeny nodded. "My goodness, Burke, I've never heard you speak so highly of someone before. Has someone caught a love bug? Ha!"

Burke frowned at the joke.

Sandra glimpsed between the two men awkwardly.

"Well, anyway, Sandra... very nice to meet you, by the way... what do you think of my tower? It's rather nice, isn't it?" Tenpenny said.

"Uh... sure." Sandra replied. Are you really bragging about this tower, old man? You and your friends just found it and moved in. It's not impressive. It's squatting.

"Well, I'm ready to hear your argument." Tenpenny said. "I'm listening, young lady. What's your proposal?"

She gulped.

"Let them live here."

Sandra began saying the first things that came to her mind—and then, she remembered something she once said to her teacher in class back when she lived in the vault. She'd been arguing about why everyone was supposed to be born in the vault and die in the vault, questioning the rules and giving the teacher reasons as to why leaving the vault would be a better choice, and if she remembered correctly, her argument had been pretty solid.

"Do you really think isolating yourself and shoving everyone else away will keep you and your people alive for long? What happens when your food and water supplies get compromised, and you don't have any other imports or opportunities for trade as a back-up? What happens when your guards get outnumbered by another community that you didn't bother to form an alliance with? There are a lot more survivors out there than there are Tenpenny Tower residents, and ghouls are probably the toughest out of all of them. They've faced a lot of discrimination, violence, and illnesses. They know how to survive. Your pampered residents don't. You'll need their friendship and their protection just as much as they need a home. Living in a hole... I mean, in a tower... living in a tower separated from the rest of the wasteland is just like closing yourself in a tomb and waiting until you die slowly. You need people to trade with. You need protection. You need friends. You need them. And they need a home. Sounds like a fair trade to me."

Tenpenny's mouth was hanging open. Burke's arms were crossed, and he was giving Sandra an impressed stare from behind his sunglasses.

"Well, you bring up a few good points, young lady... but we have a standard to uphold here." Mr. Tenpenny said.

"Do you? Really? Pretending to be part of some exclusive VIP club is more important than your survival? And their survival?" Sandra challenged him. "Is that really the argument you're going with? You do know how backwards that is, don't you?"

Tenpenny gaped at her.

Mr. Burke, who would usually forcibly discard anyone who dared show Tenpenny any disrespect, merely watched silently with a smooth smirk forming on his face.

"Well I never!" Tenpenny gasped. "I can't believe you think you can waltz into my home and tell me how to run my tower!"

"If it helps, sir." Mr. Burke interjected, holding up a hand. "Gustavo and I had to clear out the ferals by ourselves when we first arrived here. If you recall, sir... we almost weren't successful. We were swarmed, and we nearly died. This area does have a rather thick infestation of feral ghouls, and they don't seem to target the civil ghouls. I believe the ghouls have much more knowledge about the ferals than we do, too. The ferals could become a large problem for us if we don't make a change soon. The civil ghouls could prove valuable to us in that respect."

A glint of fear shimmered in Tenpenny's eyes. Sandra guessed that he must have been remembering his encounter with the ferals.

"Oh, well, now... we can't have that." Tenpenny shook his head and looked away. "Oh alright, I suppose we have no choice. But I daresay, you'll have a rather hard time convincing most of my residents to go along with this little plan. And, I suppose, it would be fun to hunt them down and punish them if they misbehaved..."

"I believe they'll listen to me." Mr. Burke said. "You leave the convincing to me. That won't be an issue."

"Very well, very well... go along, now. I'd like to be alone." Tenpenny shooed them off.

Mr. Burke and Sandra left the balcony and entered the hallway.

"You're as subtle as a brick to the face, my dear." Mr. Burke said. "But, for some reason or another, I adore that about you."

"That was fun." Sandra laughed. "You really think you can convince the other residents to go along with this?"

"I think I can convince anyone of anything. I make a living utilizing my silver tongue." Mr. Burke replied. "And if they're stubborn, then I can show them to the door. It's not as if I'd care much if we had a few less mouths to feed anyway. These pretentious snobs wouldn't be missed by me."

"Thanks." Sandra said genuinely. "I really appreciate the help."

"Never a problem." Mr. Burke told her.

"I have to go find my friends, and I have to go find that vault too..." Sandra mumbled. "I'll have to stop by that sewer and tell Roy that he can move in. Yeah, I'll be quick about it... hopefully I'll find the vault soon... gotta get back on the road..."

"You're not coming back, then." Mr. Burke said. "You're... leaving for good."

"Not for good." Sandra told him. "I have to leave as soon as possible. I have to find my friends and my dad. But I'll come back and visit once my family situation's all taken care of. I promise."

"You promise." Mr. Burke smiled. "Only children make promises. You sound like a child when you say things like that."

Sandra shrugged. "I'll see you around, Mr. Burke. Thanks for all the help."

At that, the lone wanderer waved him goodbye, then entered the elevator and rode down to the bottom floor. When she finally left the tower and found her friends' campsite, Thrash was munching on a boatfly he had killed, Bryan was feasting savoringly on FancyLad SnackCakes, and Charon was nodding off in front of the fire.

The sight of them sent a wave of happiness through her that she'd never felt before.

I love these guys.