James inspected the armor carefully before reaching for a sponge from the bucket with a solution of abraxo cleaner and water. He sloshed it around in the water before taking it and splashing the solution on the power armor. He had just wasted almost 500 caps for the materials to fix the Mark II Advanced Power Armor from the Enclave and didn't have the caps to hire another person to clean it for him. He began to scrub off the blood caked on the power armor after the close quarters fight with the Triggermen at Vault 114.
"So how was life in the vault, blue?" Piper asked, she stood next to him pen and paper in hand. She seemed to want to capitalize on James's ability to talk.
"No comment." James said without looking away from the power armor. "And don't call me blue."
"Fine." Piper relented. "Where'd you come from, blue?"
"I told you not to call me blue."
"You didn't answer my question."
"If I answer will you stop asking me questions?"
"We'll see."
"The Capital Wasteland."
"Wow all the way from there?"
"Yeah, you ever been?"
"Nah, never been down that far. Gotten lots of interviews of traders that came from down south. Lots of them talked about the place. And…" she began. "one Lone Wanderer."
"Doesn't exist."
"Well, the wastelanders seem to think so. There has to be some truth to this 'legend' of the Capital Wasteland."
"There isn't. Trust me."
"Why should I?" Piper continued scribbling. James rolled his eyes.
"Because I know." He stood up from where he was crouched and inspected his work. Quickly he ejected the fusion core from the armor and stashed it in his pack.
"C'mon Blue gimme details." Piper whined.
"First of all, don't call me blue." James said while he wiped his hands with a rag. "Second, I need a drink." James walked briskly towards power noodles and noticed Katherine walking with Nick.
"Oh, hey James." Katherine said. The look on her face indicated that she was upset by something. But James decided asking what was wrong in front of Piper may not have been the best idea.
"Hey Kat." James said, he continued to try to wipe the grease and oil off of his hands. "Nick."
"James." Nick responded, another lit cigarette in his synthetic hand.
"How'd the talk go?" James asked.
"I'll go wait by the house, see if I can get in." Nick said before shuffling away quickly. James frowned. Nick was acting strangely.
"Okay, Nick." Katherine said. She looked up at James.
"What's up?" He asked, giving her a small smile.
"We might have a lead on who took my boy." She whispered as if she didn't want anyone else to know. As if the noise of the Diamond City market would have allowed for any eavesdropper to actual hear. James gestured for her to follow him into a small alcove between buildings.
"Really? That's great news. Who's the perp?"
"His name is Kellogg."
"Like the cereal?" James asked. Katherine gave a small laugh.
"No. That's his actual name. Have you ever heard of him?"
"Never." James said as he frowned. "I've been to a lot of places, but I never stayed for long."
"Okay." Katherine said softly.
"Why?"
"Nick took you for a merc and wondered if you had maybe worked with him before."
"Well, he's not too far off the mark. I guess I can be considered a merc. But no, never heard of him nor have I worked with him." Katherine sighed.
"Okay, then." She smiled slightly. "You want to come with us? Search his place?"
"Only if you're comfortable with me doing so."
"I am."
"Cool. Lemme grab my jacket first." Katherine noticed the sky rain begin to fall. It had just registered within her mind that it was quite cloudy. A storm was brewing above the Commonwealth.
The rain began to patter and trickle down the metal buildings when James returned.
"Here." He said as he handed her a faded blackish-brown leather jacket with a green snake printed onto the back. It read "Tunnel Snakes rule".
"Tunnel Snakes?" she asked, half-amused and half-curious.
"Gang that used to hand around Vault 101." James explained.
"Were you ever…?"
"Oh no." James quickly interjected. "Never. They were the Vault bullies and they always bullied this one girl."
"Oh, really? You weren't the bully?"
"Hah, no. They picked on her cause she was the Overseer's daughter. They picked on me cause I told them to stop."
"Really? Not because you were different or anything?'
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm just asking. Kids usually are picked on for being different."
"Hmm. Well, I don't know then. I never put too much thought into what the Tunnel Snakes thought of me or Amata."
"Amata?"
"My… friend from the Vault. The girl who got picked on." Katherine and James began to walk slowly towards where Nick was waiting for them.
"Oh. How was she?"
"She was great. She always tried to make everyone feel good. Even the Tunnel Snakes. But then she changed."
"What do you mean?"
"Wish I could tell you. I came back to the Capital after nine years and everything was different. I heard some pretty bad stories about the Vault. Never got around to checking it out."
"Why not?"
"Bad sense of direction." James joked. Katherine gave him a dirty look.
"Really, why?"
"Like whenever I do anything. I just get caught up in too many things, I forget the real reason I start doing something."
"Why did you leave?"
"I, uh, let's not talk about that."
"Okay. So if you didn't like the Tunnel Snakes then…." Katherine held up a black sleeve. James stared at it for a little while.
"I was escaping the Vault and the gang's leader, Butch runs up to me. He tells me his mom's trapped in her with a couple radraoches." James smiled. "You see, Butch really used to bully me big time, so I thought he was the toughest guy around."
"And?"
"We wasn't. He's scared of bugs. And he couldn't save his mom, so he asked me."
"What did you do?"
"Well, I thought about what my dad would do. Next thing I knew, I was in the room smashing bugs."
"Wow. And then?"
"He gave me his jacket as thanks. It was the best thing he could do given the circumstances."
"You said you were trying to escape the vault. Why?"
"Gee, could you two take any longer?" Nick asked, while puffing on his cigarette, hands stuffed into his coat pockets.
"Oh." Katherine said. "We're here."
"I guess that's a story for another time then." James joked. "So we gonna go in or not?"
"Wish we could." Nick said. "Tried the lock, couldn't crack it. Kellogg has got some pretty tight security."
"Let me take a look at it." James said. Katherine held James's jacket over her head so the rain wouldn't wet her suit. Gonna need to find something new to wear soon. Hate all the people staring at me. She thought to herself. She watched as James worked at the lock, fidgeting with a screwdriver and what looked to her like a bobby pin.
She began to think of Nate again. It had been a long time since she had done so. It had been two months since James had found her and released her in the Vault. It already seemed like a lifetime ago since that happened. Nate. Seemed even further away. She thought of the kiss she and James shared on their way back from Tenpines Bluff. It was a terrible kiss. She thought to herself. It was almost as if he had no idea how to kiss a girl right. She smiled a little. Maybe I could teach him… She stopped herself immediately realizing what she was thinking. She shook the image out of her head.
"Done." She heard James's voice in the distance. Katherine turned and watched James open the door.
"You do nice work." Nick muttered, and James nodded before offering Nick to be the first to enter. Nick nodded and tipped his hat before shuffling inside of Kellogg's house. Katherine walked forward.
"You first, milady." James said in a playful tone.
"Milord." Katherine mimicked before stepping in herself. She let the jacket rest on her shoulders rather than hold it above her head. She took a good long look at the place while Nick shuffled through many of Kellogg's belongings.
"Huh. Small place." James said as he walked in. Katherine looked back at him and couldn't help staring at how his white t-shirt stuck to his chest and abs after being drenched by the rain. She quickly looked away again before spotting a desk.
"I'll search the desk." Katherine mumbled.
"James, you wanna get upstairs?" Nick asked as he stared at the wall.
"Sure." James said. "huh, nothing else up here. Pretty empty. There's an ammo box but that's it."
"Huh. Why rent a place here, especially since its expensive, only to keep nothing?" Nick wondered aloud. Katherine opened the desk drawers and found a few bullets.
"Just a few bullets and a small box of .44 ammunition." Katherine called aloud.
"No surprise there." Nick commented. "Kellogg's known for operating with a deadly .44 pistol."
"There's something else too." Katherine said.
"What is it? Talk to me." Nick said while continuing to stare at the same place in the wall.
"Why are you staring at the wall?" James asked.
"Place looks pretty big on the outside. Something about this wall doesn't feel right to me." Nick said. Katherine looked under the desk and found a small red button. She pressed it. She heard a small rumble sound and looked up. The wall in front of Nick folded in on itself and revealed a hidden wall.
"Work's just cut out for me." Nick said as he finished his cigarette. "That's one way to hide a room."
"Huh, would you look at that?" James said as he walked down the stairs. Katherine followed Nick into the room.
"San Francisco sunlights?" Nick muttered.
"Yeah, popular cigar brand that's distributed mostly on the West Coast. Other than San Francisco it's only other main place of sales is the Boneyard." James commented. Nick looked at him with a funny look.
"What? I get around." Katherine picked up a beer bottle.
"Gwinett Stout beer." She read. Nate's favorite brand. She thought.
"Interesting choice." Nick muttered.
"Isn't that hard to get around here?" James asked.
"The pure stuff, yeah." Nick responded. "Looks like our guy here is a man of means."
"Especially with the Sunlights. They're not exactly circulating among all of the wastelanders around here." James reasoned.
"So wouldn't that mean it'd be fairly uncommon for a wastelander to have one?" Katherine asked. Nick's blue eyes lit up a brighter shade of blue.
"I got it. The sunlights are rare out east. Maybe we could get a dog to catch the scent and that's how we'll find Kellogg." Nick said. "Or maybe someone who distributes these and knows him."
"Great, now we just need to find a dog." James said.
"What about Dogmeat?" Katherine asked.
"Dogmeat?" Nick asked.
"A dog she adopted. Like the Deathclaw." James answered.
"His name is Spot." Katherine interjected.
"It has a name now?!" James cried in disbelief.
"Spot?" Nick asked.
"Yes." Katherine said quietly.
"Isn't Dogmeat all the way back at Sanctuary?" James asked.
"Yeah, I guess we're gonna have to go and get him." Katherine said.
"Sounds like we have a plan. So you still need me to tag along?" Nick asked.
"Would you like to, Nick?" Katherine asked.
"Only if you need me." Nick responded. She nodded.
"Why don't you come with us?" Katherine asked.
"All right, it's settled. Let's head back to Sanctuary and get Dogmeat." James said.
"AGH!" a cry from outside caught all of their attentions. James rushed outside with his 10mm drawn. Morales stood at the doorway fighting off a brown dog.
"Dogmeat?" Katherine asked.
"Well, that's convenient." James muttered. "Morales, what are you doing?"
"I came to warn you, sir."
"About what?"
"Eden sent a message to everyone warning that the Prydwyn is closing in on Boston, he's recalled all Enclave forces and explicitly ordered you back to the Capital."