CHAPTER 28: WANTED HUNT.

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." -Abraham Lincoln.

Louis' back slumped against the wall of the stairwell and slowly slid down to his rear. The strength in his legs finally gave out. It was all he could do to put on a brave face with a gun pointed at him.

"Whoa! That was too close..." he placed a hand to the side of his head. "I'm so glad Doug wasn't here, I'd never hear the end of it."

He sat for a few minutes wondering if Radcliffe would come to talk or make an excuse. But he didn't come, which was what he figured to begin with. So he stood back up once his legs felt strong again and went down the winding steps, passing the same people they went by earlier.

Louis reached the door at the bottom of the stairs, the music still pounding loud as ever. He put a smile back on his face and returned to the dance room. It seemed that more people had come in since he was gone, but it wasn't hard to find his friends dancing since they stood out so much. After rejoining them they danced for another hour until deciding to turn in. It was around 1:30 in the morning when they entered their room, although Joe went to the front desk for a moment once they arrived at the hotel.

Asimov acquired them a large room, which proved to be a tad difficult with an Assaultron, a Super Mutant, and a very large canine. Yet once the amount of caps needed to pay for the extra large room came up it quickly ended their fears. Their backpacks and weapons waited in the corner along with bunk beds in very good condition.

Victoria sat down on her bottom bunk and gave it a feel. "I hope they clean these sheets. And bed. And everything else."

"The clerk informed us these beds receive regular cleaning. They want to attract as many customers as possible." Asimov said to her. "And I managed to reduce the prices since I don't require sleep and Cavall will sleep on the floor."

Cavall sniffed around on the floor to find a spot to sleep. He picked a corner, walked in a circle a few times before flopping down and resting his head on his front paws.

Doug pulled off his boots and cargo jacket and stretched for a moment. "So, Louis, I remember you saying something about having a theory on this place. Or was I too drunk at the time?"

"No, you're right. And it turned out to be worse than I thought..." Louis removed his trench coat and put it on a coatrack.

"From the sound of your voice, it isn't good." Inez climbed up her bunk, waiting for him to speak.

"Paradise's Raid truly lives up to its name, but to do that, these Raiders pay their way through with blood and death." Louis took a moment to find a bunk for himself. "I saw my proof at the market."

"And when you say blood and death?..." Joe inquired.

"I saw a few Raiders with backpacks, one of them was covered in blood on the side with a bullet hole." everyone in the room caught on right away. "These people...attack and rob their victims for whatever caps they have and sell everything else. I even heard a few brag about their latest haul. That's how the caps keep flowing in, from the countless victims left beaten and dead while these Raiders drink and party all day long."

Joe had the same thoughts as well. One of the benefits of living for so long gave him a keen sense of seeing these kind of things. "No surprise there. People like them will gut you for the two caps in your pocket."

"All the more reason to leave as soon as possible." Victoria threw back the covers of her bed. "But we need to sleep first. It's been a long and fun night. Despite the present company all around us."

"Speaking of said company, where did Radcliffe go?" Asimov inquired.

"Oh, uh, I wanted to get some air and Radcliffe took me to the roof." Louis answered, a half lie at that. "But then he said there was something he needed to do and left me. It was very sudden."

"That's a bit weird, considering he practically dragged us all over the place." Victoria felt something was strange about the explanation of his sudden departure.

"Well I enjoyed dancing very much." Wayland said with a deep yawn. He laid down on his bottom bunk, which creaked loudly under his weight. "And I liked dancing with you guys too."

Louis smiled towards him. "Yeah, you're pretty good on your feet for someone your size."

"Did you have fun dancing too, Chloe?" Inez asked while taking off her boots. But Chloe didn't answer. She laid face down on the bed with her hair disheveled all over. Inez sighed and got down. "I'll get her boots and combat armor off..."

It didn't take long for everyone else to fall asleep, the long night of partying had taken its toll. That, and of course drinking a little too much all night.

March 29/2296

The first thing Radcliffe felt was a splitting headache, followed by seeing everything in blurry swirls, a weird feeling in his back, and heavy nausea that was creeping up his throat. Radcliffe groaned as he rolled a little and realized he was laying on a narrow platform that felt like old wood against his mostly shaved head. His body tapped something and sent it falling off, it shattered against the floor, the shatter of a glass bottle.

"And there's another fucking mess to clean up." a man's voice near him sighed. "At least that one was empty."

"Why the fuck are you shouting?" Radcliffe curled on the platform he laid on.

"I'm not shouting. You're just really, really, really hungover." the man answered.

His words still felt like stabs in his skull. "Where am I?"

"You're at an open bar. My open bar. The Waste View." the bar owner answered. "And you were here all night long."

"And what am I laying on? My back is killing me."

"The bar itself. You passed out on the bar counter and slept through the night."

Radcliffe finally willed his eyes open, the dark gray sky was the first thing he saw in a heavy blur that slowly cleared. He took in his surroundings and saw several empty beers bottles, a whisky bottle, and a green bottle near him. Radcliffe rolled a little more and knocked over another bottle that fell off and shattered.

"Fuck...what happened last night?..." he asked, swinging his legs around to dangle off the bar counter.

"I wasn't here last night, I have a few employee that run the night shift." the bartender grabbed a broom and dustpan. "And as I was told by them, you came here past midnight, ordered a round of beers. Which then resulted in ordering a bottle of whiskey, followed by rum. And then you downed a whole bottle of absinthe, to which they tried to stop you. After that it was hours of you tripping out, scaring some of the customers away, played a few rounds of pool and won...somehow. And then drank a few more beers before passing out on the bar. So in other words, you were shitfaced."

"You could have just said that from the start..." Radcliffe hopped off the bar and grabbed his pack and LMG that was resting on the floor near the bar lounge. He staggered for a moment, hands resting on his knees as another wave of nausea worked its way up his throat. "Shit, where's the nearest medical place?..."

"Just go back down to ground level and you'll find the market area soon. There should be a doctor's office somewhere." the bartender pointed to the stairway access.

"Thanks for the-" Radcliffe's stomach finally quit on him. He leaned forward and hurled his guts out. Sickly green and brown vomit painted the floor at his feet, the disgusted groans of the patrons made them gag, some also vomited thanks to the sight of seeing Radcliffe do it.

Radcliffe spat out the last of the vomit in his mouth, the queasy sickness in his stomach mostly gone. "Oh, that's so much better! Okay, I'm gonna go visit a doctor." he walked around and reached the stairwell entrance.

"Hey! Cleaning up glass is one thing, but you better clean up that mess! And you didn't pay your bill either! Four hundred caps for all those drinks!" the bartender shouted while coming out from behind the bar.

"Put it on my fucking debt!" Radcliffe hollered at the top of his lungs.

The bartender and those who were listening in jolted from fear. Radcliffe's tone sounded terrifying, like a wild animal snapping at its prey. He turned back to the door and went down the stairs, slamming it shut behind him. Slowly but surely, he staggered his way down, the night before a hazy blur after his failed attempt to steal the Pip-Boy. But what was worse than his hangover was Louis' words bouncing around in his head, it pissed him off to the point of vomiting again if he had anything left in his stomach.

()()()()()()()()()()

In a secret part of Paradise's Raid, a place where only officials are allowed to be, the man known as Seymour sat at a round table. In front of him rested a large folder filled with documents of the income to Paradise's Raid. An Itinerary Man stood next to him.

Seymour grumbled, his patience almost at an end. "What is taking so long?..."

"The meeting starts at nine, sir. And it's five minutes till." the Itinerary Man flipped through the pages of the schedule.

"That's no excuse. They could be here earlier to get this meeting started." Seymour leaned back in his seat with a huff.

The door to the room swung open, a woman wearing an elegant red dress with gold inlets and heels that went all the way up to her knees. Her black hair done up with loose strands. "Honestly, Seymour, I can hear you complaining from the hall..." she spoke, her blue eyes glaring at him.

"About time, Christina. You know these finance meetings are important." Seymour grabbed the folder. "And since you are in charge of all the gambling, I figured you would be more concerned about these things."

"That doesn't mean I should worry myself half to death like you..." Christina sauntered over to her seat and sat down. "You worry way too much."

"And we need to have these bimonthly meetings!" Seymour tapped his index finger on the folder. "Paradise's Raid doesn't run itself."

The door swung open again, a dark skinned man stepped in with his arms raised. He wore a red and purple suit of his own making with the front split open in a 'V' pattern, exposing most of his toned chest and abs. His short hair dyed pink with a number of earrings and piercings.

"Hello, honeys! Leroy is in the house!" he shouted flamboyantly, carrying a song in his voice.

"Oh, god, I wish you sat this one out." Seymour rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Sweety, don't be like that! You need to relax more." Leroy sat down at his seat and kicked his legs up on the table. "And for the record, I do care about these meetings. I need to make sure our finances are in order so I can keep my sweeties nice and healthy for clients."

Another man entered the room, wearing black leather with armor. His head shaved and a thick brown beard with braided. "Stop calling your whores, sweeties. I'm warning you, if you get too lenient on them, they will get lazy with their work."

"And here comes Karl! Stomping in here with his big boots and 'tough guy' exterior!" Leroy mocked while swing his arms side to side as if he was marching.

"Say one more word, you gender confused, over glorified pimp, and I'll drop you from highest point of Paradise's Raid!" Karl harshly pointed his finger towards him, the thought had crossed his mind on many occasions.

"Ooh! Getting rough? I love it rough!" Leroy winked seductively.

Once more the door opened, another woman with tanned skin and messy brown hair stepped in. Wearing a dirty jumpsuit. "Hey, everyone, I just got done fixing a water purification hub, it's very dirty work in case you didn't know. And then I come here for the meeting and you all are about to kill each other."

"Stacy, you have other people to fix things. You don't have to overlook every form of maintenance." Seymour huffed, wishing she took the time to clean up. "And would it have killed you to take a quick shower?"

"Can we just get this meeting started?" Christina placed her elbows on the table and supported her chin with her hands.

"We need to wait for Horton." Karl crossed his arms hastily. "Which will take all damn day."

"Not as long as you think, asshole."

The people in the room turned to the man at the door, his enormous belly barely squeezing through. His stomach barely covered by a white shirt, yet dark blue jeans and jacket covered his surprisingly muscular limbs and chest. His balding head showed he was around middle aged.

"And here he is, everyone! The rarest thing to see in the Wasteland! A fatass!" Stacy announced like a showman. "It's like seeing a unicorn. A very fat unicorn..."

"Your attempts to insult me are pitiful..." Horton walked over and sat down in his seat, which creaked under his weight. "I don't spend all day sucking down on grease and filth like you. I enjoy the finer things in life, tasting the food of the past and finding ingredients that are worth ten times their weight in gold or water! A connoisseur of flavor that so few get to enjoy compared to the meager slop that others survive on!"

"And when I see your jowls jiggle, I lose my appetite..." Karl sneered in disgust.

"If you guys are done fighting like children, let's get this meeting going already..." Seymour picked up the folder and opened it.

"There's the pot calling the kettle black again..." Christina whispered to Stacy.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Doug awoken to the feeling of something heavy on his legs. He sat up and saw Cavall laying on him below the waist. "Cavall? What are you doing? Get off me! My legs are going numb."

Cavall's ears perked, woken by Doug's voice. Instead of getting off, Cavall's bushy tail started wagging and he crawled forward to Doug and started licking his face.

"No! Cavall! Stop it, down boy! Cavall! I hate it when you lick my face! Your breath stinks!" Doug tried to push him off, but the hybrid proved to be too strong when excited.

Everyone stirred awake upon hearing Doug's shouts. Some of them still feeling the headache of a hangover. Louis got down and planted his feet on the floor and stretched before looking to Joe's bed and saw he wasn't there.

"What? Where'd Joe go?"

"Why are you people shouting?!..." Chloe muttered, throwing the pillow over her face.

"We're not shouting. You're just really hungover..." Victoria said while getting up to stretch.

Inez got down and started pulling her jumpsuit up. "Louis does have a good point, where is he?"

"He won't go far." Doug finally managed to get Cavall off his bed. "What time is it anyway?"

Louis checked his Pip-Boy. "A little past ten."

Wayland sat up from his bed, a rumble of hunger came from his stomach. "Is it too late for, uh, breakfast?"

"I suppose we shouldn't leave without eating first." Doug threw on his cargo jacket and started gathering his gear. "I don't suppose Radcliffe is going to meet up with us?"

Louis remembered the night before, being held up at gunpoint and arguing back and forth for the Pip-Boy. "I doubt it. He seemed busy, or something..."

Asimov tilted his head curiously, sensing he still wasn't being honest. "Did something happen between you two?"

"It's like I said, he just had something to do..." Louis threw his trench coat on and adjusted it.

"We should check outside, Joe might just be in the hall." Victoria finished putting her boots on and tied the laces.

Louis walked over to the door and pulled it open, looking around for their missing friend. Before giving up and turning away, the door from across their room opened up. A blonde woman, the very stripper that danced for Joe last night came out. Fully dressed with her hair a little disheveled. She paid him no mind and left the hall that lead out into the check in room. Louis raised a curious brow, the answer came a few moments later when Joe walked out of the same room, a crooked smile and a freshly lit cigarette.

He noticed Louis and grabbed the cigarette with his fingers. "Uh, hey, Louis. You guys are up earlier than I expected..."

Louis hummed in his throat. "Seems like you had a fun late night..."

"Hey, when you look like this and a beautiful woman hits on you, then you take that opportunity to have fun." the Ghoul shrugged. "I'll get my stuff."

Soon the wanderers were packed and ready, one last visit to the Chow Station to eat before leaving. They needed to cover as much ground as possible since they got a late start to the day.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

At first glance anyone who saw the leaders of Paradise's Raid would think they were simply a group of people who couldn't get along. And most would be right at that part. Yet anyone who hanged around them long enough would also learn they commanded an air of respect and fear. They had the resources and the manpower to take down anyone that stood against them despite the many issues they had with each other.

"And on that note, we need to make an investment in more concrete and rebar. The east wall section has started to show signs of age." Seymour showed them information on graphs and charts on a board he had rolled in. "And the gambling district needs more security, we've had at least four attempts on the treasury vault in the last month."

"For once I truly agree with you." Christina said while casually flipping through pages of her notes.

"Forget increasing security in the gambling places." Karl slammed the side of his fist on the table. "We already have more than enough High Lookers as it is. I am swamped with recruits." he looked to Leroy, who was filing his blue and pink colored nails. "In other words, Leroy, either get more birth control pills and condoms, or make your whores get abortions! I know we use the little gutter rats as free labor, but we'll be overrun in a few years!"

"Stop acting like my honeys are breeding like mutant rabbits!" Leroy clicked his tongue. "We only get a handful of births a year. You do realize it takes nine months to make a baby, right? Or did mommy and daddy not tell you about the birds and the bees?"

Karl slammed his hands on the table and stood up, ready to strangle him.

"Settle down! Just send any spare laborers to me." Stacy spoke up. "We need more people for maintenance, I'll have them trained for that kind of work."

"Good idea." Christina raised her hand for a moment. "It's nice to have security, that way travelers will feel safe with all these Raiders around. But too many will put them all on edge. How do we expect them to have fun and spend caps when everywhere they turn someone is breathing down their neck?"

"That still doesn't change the fact that we have a lot of mouths to feed. Both the people who come and those who live and work here." Horton cleared his flabby throat. "For years, I've kept fresh food, clean water, and other much needed supplies coming! Paradise's Raid is probably one of the very few places in this country, if not the entire world, where people can have a taste of the past! Thanks to my research, I've tracked down transportation routes that went to Super-Duper Marts all over! I've found ingredients that no one has seen before! I've even found spices like oregano!"

"Settle down before you drop dead from a heart attack..." Stacy sighed, her eyes covered by her palm. "Every time we talk about food you get like this!"

"Even so, he does have a point." Seymour spoke while gathering his notes back up. "Keep the people drunk and fed, and the caps and trade keep coming. And I keep track of the debts."

"Speaking of debts," Christina grinned mischievously. "I heard that a certain someone owes seventy thousand caps. That someone wouldn't be Radcliffe, would it?..."

"I gave him a few months to pay it. Not that I expect him to."

"Then what are you going to do if he doesn't?" Leroy asked before clapping his hands. "Oh! You can send him to me! I think he's kinda cute!"

"I haven't thought of anything yet. But either way, he will pay." Seymour's mind flooded with past thoughts, for years he wanted to make Radcliffe suffer. He had always hated him with a passion. "And if he can't pay his debt, well, that will be just one less Raider scum in the world."

"Yes, I hear he's a Berserker Dragon." Stacy's tone change to that of concern. "And I heard they were all killed more than a decade ago. But it seems one rat scurried away."

"It doesn't matter anymore." Seymour cut in sharply. "Radcliffe is a nobody. A selfish, lying, whoring, two-bit drunk. As soon as his debt's paid he can rot in a ditch."

The door of the meeting room slowly opened, a man holding a suitcase carefully stepped in. "Uh, excuse me, sirs?..."

Karl's palm slammed on the table, shaking everything on it. "You people were told not to bother us unless it's an emergency!"

"Sorry, sir!" the man cowered at the opening. "But Horton told me to bring this to him as soon as possible!"

Horton shot up from his seat, his bloated belly jiggling as he moved towards the man. "Yes! I've waited for so long!" he took the case from the man and returned to his seat.

The latches flipped up, he opened it and gasped with delight. Inside contained eight stacked boxes of snack food, preserved for more than two hundred years. He ripped open a box and took out a yellowish, rectangle sponge cake wrapped in plastic.

"One of the rarest snacks ever! A Golden Cream!" he shoved the yellow cake into his mouth and chewed noisily. "Mmm! The creamy filling on the inside is like no other!" he unwrapped another and wolfed it down. "Snack cakes like these are worth a fortune!"

"Until you eat them all..." Christina scoffed, watching him eat yet another.

"There's thirty more cases of those snack cakes, sir." the delivery man spoke. "It's as you discovered, the cakes were found in a small warehouse depot along with others that-"

"I don't care for the details." Horton cut off with a wave of his hand. "All I care about is what I requested to be found. Tell the people who brought the cases will be paid once this meeting is done." he then unwrapped another and ate it.

"You better make sure the rest are sold." Karl glared at him. "That crap is worth ten times its weight in caps."

"If we're done with this distraction, let's get back to business." Seymour said before they got behind schedule. "Since Stacy brought it up, we should discuss fees to supply more materials for fixing our power generators and water pumps."

Everyone but Stacy groaned and complained in annoyance.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Radcliffe sat at a table near a food stand in the open market, slowly chewing on a bread roll. A plate that once had scrambled eggs and bacon was long finished with an empty pitcher of water next to it. A quick visit to a doctor's office and a handful of pills helped him recover from his binge drinking last night. But the medication left him a little drowsy for the time being.

'And is this how you want to live the rest of your life? Drinking, screwing, and running from debt?'

Louis' words rang in his head yet again, and the hangover wasn't helping either. The night played over and over in his mind, and a part of him wished he pulled the trigger and be done with it. His open palm slammed on the table and threw the bread roll on his plate.

"Fucking Vault dweller! Who the hell does he think he is?! Lettering me on what's right and wrong! He's lucky to have those friends or he would've been dead a long time ago! He doesn't belong in this kind of world! The weak and helpless die, that's all there is too it!"

Radcliffe leaned back in his seat and kicked up the front legs and watched as the people went about their day. Paradise's Raid never rested for a minute. The sound of a man shouting caught his attention, an owner of a food stand yelled at a kid that worked for him. Most likely another child with no choice but to stay and work to survive.

The sound of caps scraping on wood came to his ears next. A few tables over a quivering man pushed a heap of caps towards an Itinerary man with two High Lookers standing behind him. Just another poor bastard in debt and paying with whatever caps he could scrounge up. A scene he had seen many times before but never gave it any thought up until now. The Itinerary man started counting the caps, but by the disapproving look on his face it probably wasn't enough.

Another scene caught his eye, a small group of Raiders fresh from the Wasteland carried duffle bags and backpacks. Another scene he had seen many times before too. The items they carried didn't belong to them, they were dirty and looked roughed up in a struggle. More victims attacked and killed just for their stuff, and for some reason it made Radcliffe sick now.

His chair legs slammed back onto the concrete and stood up. Radcliffe grabbed the remaining bread roll and started chewing while walking off, almost forgetting his weapons and pack for a moment. He had no place to go and he couldn't leave Paradise's Raid. It had become just like a jail and he didn't even realize it up until now. Radcliffe wandered into an alley section and slumped against the wall. A chuckle escaped from his throat, the irony wasn't lost on him about becoming a prisoner in a place he treated like home.

"I wonder if this is how everyone who fell into debt feels like?" he asked himself. "Can't run, can't leave, can't get out of debt. Seymour's gonna kill me, I just know it."

Radcliffe slumped to the ground and looked up to the sky. The artificial lights of Paradise's Raid only helped punctuate how much of a fraud the place was deep down. Fake lights, fake sky, and fake pleasures, all of it under a gray and abysmal sky.

"How many years has it been since I saw the sun? How many years has it been since I lost that shit pit I was born into?" he wondered out loud. The tattoo on his back a permanent mark to the cursed history of the Berserker Dragons. "I suppose this is the way it should end. I was born into a horrible Raider group that everyone is glad they're dead, seems fitting I would die in a place like this and no one would give a damn."

He reached behind and grabbed the LMG hanging from his back and held it in his hands. An idea suddenly popped into his head, a surprisingly dark idea even for him. Radcliffe knew the leaders of Paradise's Raid always had meetings, and he had a good idea where they always meet.

"Maybe I should go with a bang." Radcliffe started to like the idea more and more. "I know I can't pay my debt, but at least I'll teach them a lesson in pissing me off! People will remember me for years!"

A sudden clatter in the distance almost made him pull the trigger, and that was the last thing he needed right now considering the trigger on the LMG can be a little sticky.

"Don't let them escape into the vents!" a voice echoed from within the alley.

Radcliffe couldn't help his curiosity, he stood up and started making his way towards the noise. More sounds of a struggle was soon heard, he recognized the heavy clomping of boots from High Lookers. The sound of a boy's yell and a girl's scream came next. Radcliffe felt the hairs on his neck stand up, something about the screams felt familiar. A baby's sudden cry finally confirmed who they were, the very children he fed yesterday.

"How hard is it for you guys to capture a bunch of kids?"

Radcliffe could easily tell it was an Itinerary man calling the shots.

"Shut up! If you got a problem with it, then do it yourself!" one of the High Looker's shouted back.

Finally, Radcliffe turned the corner and saw the scene before him. Three High Lookers and an Itinerary man captured the children. One held the boy, another held the dark skinned girl tightly by the arm, and another kneeled in front of an open vent reaching in to grab the blonde girl holding the baby that was starting to fuss from all noise.

"And I don't need to remind you that Seymour and the others want these brats finally caught." the Itinerary man retorted. "They've been scurrying around like rats for too long..."

The boy happen to look over and see Radcliffe peaking around the corner. For a moment he felt a rush of hope.

"Just hold onto your fucking clipboard and wait!" the High Looker reaching for the girl in the vent tried again.

The baby began to cry, his shrill scream made Radcliffe's chest tighten. And before he knew it, he stepped out from the turn as if something at the back of his mind was pushing him to go.

"Excuse me, how's it hanging?" he called out to them.

The four men shot their eyes towards him, for a moment they worried before realizing who it was. "Oh, Radcliffe, right? What the hell are you doing here?" the Itinerary man asked with a frown.

Radcliffe wanted to ask himself the same question. "Uh, you know, just wandering around..." he started walking closer, not showing an interest in the kids. "So...these kids with you guys?"

"Just mind your own fucking business, you drunk bastard!" the High Looker holding the girl's arm warned, not realizing he squeezed her arm tight again.

"Now, now, there's nothing to worry about." the Itinerary man chuckled. "This is Radcliffe. He only cares about himself."

Radcliffe took offense to his tone but kept pressing. "Right, but still, isn't harassing a bunch of kids beneath your paygrade?"

"We do whatever job needs to be done here." the Itinerary man held the thick clipboard to his side. "But if you must know, these brats have been loose for too long. And everyone who lives here must pull their weight." he looked to the kids like they were animals. "The boy will make a great worker. And he's still small, plenty of places he can get in to. And the two girls had good for nothing mothers that came here years ago and got into debt. But they had no relations to each other, just similar events. So they started working in the Red Light District to pay their debts like so many others. But the good for nothing whores died a few years later and left these little brats. They'll cook and clean until their old enough and hopefully look good enough to work the brothels. And as for the baby, that's a more complicated matter..."

"What's so complicated about a baby? You just have to feed him and shit..." Radcliffe said, something felt really wrong.

"Unfortunately the baby needs to disappear..." the Itinerary man continued.

"Disappear?..."

"Hey! Keep your big mouth shut!" the High Looker holding the boy snapped at him.

"It's fine. Like I said, Radcliffe doesn't give a damn. Nobody cares about what it takes to run Paradise's Raid." the Itinerary man ignored him. "The baby needs to die. Apparently the dad comes from a settlement a few hours away from here just outside the gray clouds. He frequented this place and had a thing for blondes with curly hair. But then he discovered the kid was born after she died in labor and his father paid to have the baby...go away..."

Radcliffe's throat went dry, he had done horrible things before, yet killing a defenseless baby made him want to puke again. "Jesus fucking Christ! You're going to kill a baby on the off chance he's some asshole's kid?!"

"Oh, Radcliffe, I don't kill kids. That's what these men are for..." he pointed his thumb to the guards. "And his father was the one who requested it. Normally I would agree with you on this, but the man often booked the woman all the time. And his father doesn't want his reputation tarnished, they're pillars of the community and all that. And I suppose he doesn't want his son's family to find out either. Now if that's all, we need to get back to business."

Radcliffe's eyes fell on the kids, something at the back of his mind told him to just turn around and leave. The kids aren't his problem, never have been. And he regretted giving them that jerky too. Yet he couldn't turn away, their pleading eyes begged him to save them, something he wished someone did a long time ago when he was their age. Maybe it wasn't the bang he expected, but at least for once he could do something good for someone else.

"Hey, how about I give you guys a hand? I can be pretty good with kids." he started approaching them, a hand drifting towards the Hardballer.

All four of them snorted with laughter. "You, with kids?! I think an unstable mini nuke in your backpack would be safer than kids!" the Itinerary man was on the verge of losing it.

"No, really, I know how to..." Radcliffe soon stood in front of the first High Looker holding the boy. No turning back now. "Surprise them!"

His hand grabbed the gun, and like lighting he swung outward and struck the man across the face with the slide and broke his nose in the process. Radcliffe had wanted to beat up a High Looker for a very long time and it felt good. The man screamed as blood dribbled from his broken nose, even a heavily trained man like him couldn't take the sudden pain and released the boy.

"Let the kids go! Now! Put your fucking hands up!" he aimed at them, a streak of blood on the slide dripped off.

All four men raised their hands up, the confusion on their faces made him smile brightly.

Radcliffe backed off a few steps and looked to the kids. "Alright, come on. Get behind me." the kids hesitated, they stood just as confused by the sudden assault by the man they met yesterday. "It's all right, I'm going to get you guys out of here! I promise, no matter what it takes."

The kids felt their fears go away for now and quickly ran behind him as the girl with the baby crawled out of the open vent.

"Alright, just follow my lead. We'll get out of this terrible place." Radcliffe started backing away, keeping his gun trained on the men.

"Are you completely drunk out of your mind, Radcliffe?!" the Itinerary man asked with a shout.

"No. Which is surprising even for me." Radcliffe couldn't have them follow, needed to give themselves time. "I was planning on giving the people who run this place a piece of my mind by blowing theirs out. You know, go out with a bang and all that shit since I'll never pay that debt anyway..."

"And now you've openly threaten the people in charge?! You're a dead man, Radcliffe! Dead!"

"Maybe so, and speaking of bangs..." Radcliffe looked down to their knees and smiled.

The children picked up and covered their ears. Four quick shots rang out in the alleyway, he ignored their pleas as they fell in a row. All they could do is cover their bleeding wounds, the moans of pain made Radcliffe chuckle at his work. Another thing he had always wanted to do, shoot an Itinerary man and High Looker.

"Alrighty, kids. Time to go." Radcliffe put his gun away.

They needed to hurry, more would be coming soon. It took Radcliffe a few minutes to realize he had pulled this all off in the heat of the moment, and he couldn't help but laugh at himself again. "Boy, I've really stepped into it now." he turned his head to the kids behind, staying close like a lifeline. "Eh, I'll make it worth it..."

Radcliffe and the kids came out from the alley at a quick pace and moved several meters away as more High Lookers came running into the alley. Thankfully they didn't spot them, Radcliffe exhaled the breath he held during that time. Thinking of a solid plan was never his strong suit, especially on the fly. First thing he needed was to find a place for all of them to hide, it won't take long before Seymour put out the Wanted Hunt.

()()()()()()()()()()

A tenth plate was placed on stack of plates, Wayland finally sated his hunger. "I never knew pancakes tasted so good!" the Super Mutant sighed happily.

"And very filling from what I hear." Doug said, hoping he was finally done eating.

Louis checked his Pip-Boy again before covering it with his trench coat sleeve. If there one good thing about last night, he learned to keep his device hidden from now on. "So, I believe we're all ready to go?"

"As long as we walk quietly..." Chloe's head still pounded from the hangover.

"We'll try, but no promises." Joe stood up with his gear in hand.

"I have noticed Cavall leaving moments ago." Asimov informed them.

Louis turned around and saw the large canine wandering off into a nearby alley. "I'll get him. Just give me a minute."

He hurried to the narrow opening and went in as Cavall went around the turn. Louis followed and found him sniffing the air as if searching for something.

"Cavall, do you really need to sniff every inch of this place to find a spot to go?" he asked as if the hybrid would answer.

"Now I'll go get some supplies, can't go into the Wasteland without any." a familiar voice reached Louis and Cavall's ears. Radcliffe came running out with children following. "You guys just stay here and I'll be-"

Both men looked each other dead in the eyes, the awkward tension was almost palatable. It wasn't even a day later since Radcliffe held him at gunpoint. And he felt Louis might return the favor, having every right to.

"Uh, hey, Louis..."

"Hey yourself." Louis looked to the kids and frowned. "This better not be what I think it is."

Radcliffe stood confused for a moment before going wide eyed. "What, no! Come on, even I wouldn't stoop so low!"

"Then what is this? Oh, please tell me they aren't your kids."

"Unfortunately it's a lot more complicated than that." Radcliffe glanced back to the children. "I need to get them out of Paradise's Raid or they're just going to be stuck here for life."

Louis couldn't think of a way to respond to that. "Just hold on, start from the beginning."

"Hey, Louis! You back here taking a dump with Cavall?" Doug called from behind and stopped upon seeing the Raider. "Radcliffe? Why are you running around in an alley...with kids?"

The rest soon followed, all of them spread out in the narrow passage. "What's the hold up?" Joe asked, also seeing Radcliffe.

"Goddamn it!" Radcliffe threw his head back, having all of them involved was the last thing he wanted. But in that instance he thought it might work in his favor. "Okay, look. First thing, Louis, I'm sorry I tried to rob you. It was a shitty thing to do!"

"Whoa, hold on, what's he talking about?" Doug asked, deep down he knew he couldn't be trusted "Rob you of what?"

"I'm in debt. I tried to hold him up for his Pip-Boy. I even tried to drug him at the bar and then tried to drug the three of you in the strip club and tried to think of more ways to steal it until he figured it out on the roof!" Radcliffe quickly blurted out, time was growing shorter by the second.

In that moment, the barrels of Joe's Webley, Victoria's .223, Chloe's plasma pistol, and Doug's Browning 9mm pointed directly at him. Any normal person would be terrified in this situation, but it was a scene he had been in a number of times.

"I get it, you're pissed. But please, help me get these kids out of this place first." He said with both hands up in defense. "Then you all can kick my ass, or shoot me, or both!"

"All good options." Inez crossed her arms to retrain herself from pulling out her Beretta. "We shouldn't waste time listening to him and his lies."

But Louis never stopped watching the children, even as they petted Cavall, who happily allow them. He wanted to know the full story, because it seemed that his words might have gotten through. "Let's hear him out. I want to hear about these kids first before we decide anything."

"No promises..." Joe said while lowering his gun.

Radcliffe sighed in relief, he really didn't want to be shot right now. "Thank you guys. I'll start from the beginning..."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The meeting between the leaders was finally winding down, and it was something they all couldn't wait for since tensions always ran high at some point or other.

"And in conclusion, Leroy, hosting a Carnival style party where we allow public nudity is a very, very, very, bad idea. So once again the answer will be no!" Seymour said as he gathered his papers into the folders.

"You people are the definition of no fun!" Leroy pouted dramatically.

"Finally this meeting is over..." Christina said, using a folder as a fan.

The door slammed open, startling all in the room. "For fuck's sake! Horton, if this is another snack cake delivery, I'm going to feed you my fist!" Karl shouted towards him.

Two guards carried the shot Itinerary man by the arms, his bullet wound covered in bandages. "Sir, we have a problem! Radcliffe's gone crazy! He shot me and three other High Lookers! He also took the little brats too! The ones that you want captured! And what's worse, he openly made threats on your lives!"

Seymour's fists clenched hard, his teeth gritted to the point that he might need a dental check. This was the last straw, he slowly stood up from his seat, even the others didn't dare anger him at this point. "That's...it! I figured Radcliffe would pull a stupid move! Just not this soon, but no matter! Time to put out the Wanted Hunt!"

Leroy clapped his hands giddily. "Ooh! I can't remember the last time we've had one!"

"This will be very entertaining. Our guards will get a workout." Karl smiled through his thick beard.

Horton shot up. "I'll get some snacks and watch the monitors!"

"I'm going to the betting parlors," Christina hurried towards the door. "Betting on a Wanted Hunt doesn't happen everyday."

Stacy rested a hand under her chin. "I just know I'm gonna have a lot of shit to fix..."

It took several long minutes for Seymour to reach the monitoring room, he was going to revel in making Radcliffe suffer. He didn't care about the debt, all he wanted was his bloody and beaten body dragged before him to personally wipe out the last of the Berserker Dragons with his own hands.

He flung open the double doors of the monitoring room. The men and women inside turned their attention to him, worry and confusion written all over their faces of him coming so suddenly.

"Seymour, sir! What can we do for you?" the man in charge asked nervously.

"Putting out a Wanted Hunt." he answered while brushing by. The room was wall to wall with small monitors and people sitting at control stations watching and recording the video feeds throughout Paradise's Raid. "And wait until you guys get a load of who I'm putting the call out on."

"Is it Radcliffe?..."

"No it's-well yes, it's him." Seymour huffed and picked up the main microphone.

()()()()()()()()()()()

"So because the baby might be someone's kid, they're going to kill him like he's just a radroach!" Radcliffe finally finished explaining to the wanderers.

The group stood silent and disgusted, words simply failed them on the subject.

"Seems like they don't have to make deals with slavers." Victoria's curled fists trembled. "They keep the very people who live and work here trapped like prisoners!"

"You either get born into this place or indebted." Doug looked down to the ground. "I've heard of twisted business practices, but this is just sick."

"If these children are wanted, we're gonna have to think of a way to smuggle them out." Asimov already started processing plans of escape. "Perhaps we can buy a cart and hide them in it?"

Radcliffe smiled to himself, surprised by their generosity. "I can't believe you guys want to help. And to think I was about to go out in a blaze of glory. Which is good because on second thought I really don't want to die right now."

A sudden crackle of static came from above, almost all of Paradise's Raid seemed to go silent and all activity froze. A few announcement beeps signaled that someone was about to talk.

"What's that noise?" Wayland looked up, a nearby speaker hanged high above.

"Oh, shit. It's too late." Radcliffe felt a cold shiver down his spine. They had officially ran out of time. "We're fucked now..."

"Attention! This is Seymour, leader of finances and trade!" he announced, an arrogance voice to his title. "We have a troublemaker amongst us! I'm sure most of you have heard about Radcliffe! He has caused countless problems for years and has now verbally made threats on our lives, we who run Paradise's Raid! So, by our authority, a Wanted Hunt has been placed on his head! Anyone who brings him in will receive a ten thousand cap reward! Bring him alive and mostly unharmed, that is an order! He will also have three children and a baby in tow, bring them in alive and completely unharmed as well for an additional thousand caps! Radcliffe is considered armed and dangerous, especially when drunk, use extreme caution when capturing him! Hurry before he tries to escape, that is all!"

The speakers went silent, almost all of the residents in Paradise's Raid went into an uproar. Ten thousand caps was too good to pass up for most Raider gangs, and most of those who were just traveling stayed out of it. There would be too many people clawing and crawling over each other for the reward.

Already, the wanderers could hear shouts of people looking for Radcliffe. Everyone claiming they've seen him here and there, running around aimlessly with no real direction and only hoped they would find him first. Footsteps started getting closer to the alleyway they stood in, and it was possible the people searching might think the wanderers were with him.

Louis' hand reached for his Desert Eagle. "This complicates things very much."