Erin was waving her hand at the Vault hunters when they left, laughing at the way Dreads slumped and dragged his feet. Yeah, he definitely looked like he was thrown half way across the Junkyard.
Scooter shook his head and signed, "E, why do you keep jerking them around? It's dangerous."
She snorted and walked over to the runner he was working on, "dangerous? Them? Hardly. Besides, I can take care of myself"
"You mean that bounty hunter from a few of years ago? Yeah, I remember him. It's not my fault that his mark was killed before he got to them."
"You were the one who killed his mark, and if I remember correctly, you stole his bike."
Erin glared at Scooter for a moment, "that bike was never his to begin with."
"That wasn't what he thought..." Scooter turned his attention back to the runners' engine.
"E, hand me that wrench, the blue one next to the belt."
She handed it to him, "Ok, so I caused a little mess back in Fyrestone. I still cleaned it up. Besides, it was like what? Six… seven years ago?"
"E, a little mess is when a skag takes a dump on your bed, what you nearly caused a war."
"Which didn't happen, and no one got hurt."
"A lot of people got hurt, and more than half of Fyrestone was destroyed."
"Alright, but no one died, at least no one important."
Scooter was frowning, "E, I'm just trying to tell you to keep your head down. You have a bad habit for falling into trouble. Sides', those guys have killed a lot of badass skags and Bandit leaders to get here."
Erin still wasn't impressed. She laughed and leaned her hip against the table, "Oh? Who and what did they kill?"
"Nine toes and Bonehead for starters, they even killed Scar for T.K."
That got her attention. Her smile vanished and she folded her arms.
"Scar and Nine-toes huh? T.K. Opened the way to Skag Gully for them then?"
She glanced over at Pierce's office, "So he asked them to kill Scar? When he didn't let me kill him, I figured that he wanted to take care of it himself."
"You know Doc Zed told him not to let you go there."
Erin did a groan, "I wish Zed would just stop treating me like a kid. I'm older than you."
As if to stop the conversation there, she dropped the box of "educational materials" on the table. Scooter's head popped up from the runner and he scrambled over to the shop table.
"Is this what I ordered three months ago?"
She did a shrug, "Maybe."
Greedily, he took the box and opened it. His eyes widened with delight as he picked up one of the magazines. Holding it almost reverently as he opened it, slowly flipping through the pages. He dog-eared a page with an almost naked busty blonde straddling what looked like an anti-tank rifle.
Erin frowned, feeling the old envy rising in her chest, what little there was of it anyway, "you're really looking at that right now?"
"Just- previewing for when I gotta take a dump later."
"Ew."
He closed the magazine, "speaking of that, I think I saw Luka taking a dump next to one of Marcus' vending machines earlier."
"Oh, shit."
[Brick]
Mordecai was counting the money when they left Pierce's office.
"Least the pay's good." He murmured once he was finished and shoved it in his wallet. He picked up his Echo and dialed a number.
"Calling Roland and Lilith?"
"May as well. See if they need any help in the Sunterra."
Roland picked up and they could hear shouting and gunfire in the background.
"What do you need?"
"We finished the job. You need any help?"
They heard an explosion over the ECHO and Lilith laughing.
"Ok, that guy just- wow this gun is the fucking tits!"
Brick grinned. "Sounds like you're having fun."
Roland chuckled slightly "We're fine. You two get some rest. Maybe find a motel or something if they have one so we can have a bed to sleep in. We should meet in New Haven in a few hours"
The transmission ended and Mordecai put the Echo away.
"Rest… rest…" the hunter rolled his shoulder and looked around, "you think this place even would have an inn or something?"
Brick glanced over to where they had last talked to Erin and saw her talking with Scooter. Her arms were folded, and it seemed like they were arguing about something.
"She might know something."
Mordecai looked at the girl and frowned deeply. "I've no doubt of that. But dealing with that girl is dangerous. To our well-being and my blood pressure."
"I don't know… she's frustrating as hell, but…"
"But?"
"She did come help us when our runner exploded. She didn't have to."
Mordecai growled, no doubt remembering how Brick had shoved him onto the back of Erin's bike, despite his protests.
The hunter sighed, "if you want to go over and ask go ahead. I'm looking somewhere else."
Mordecai whistled for his pet and took a glance at her before he left. Erin had slammed her hands down on the table.
"DAMMIT SCOOTER YOU KNOW I CAN'T DO THAT!" She screamed.
The hunter smirked at her agitation, "besides, it looks like they're having an important conversation might want to wait before walking over there."
Brick watched her pace back and forth agitated before walking over.
Erin rose an eyebrow when she saw him then her expression suddenly brightened. She snapped her fingers and practically skipped over to him.
"You'll do perfectly!"
[Mordecai]
Mordecai walked into Marcus's store after he left Brick behind. He couldn't believe that he suggested talking to Erin of all people. She almost killed them. Was he so thick headed he forgot? It didn't help that the man was easily swayed by cute things.
"Welcome customer!"
The hunter almost jumped. He didn't expect to see the bus driver again and wasn't looking forward to more jokes about his mask. He thought a beat longer. No wait, this is perfect.
"Hey."
"How may I help you, Vault hunter?"
He had originally wanted to simply purchase some ammo and a new rifle, but Marcus seemed to be someone who got around, and someone like that was usually well informed. He could ask where or if he can find an inn in New Haven, but…
"I need some information."
The merchant raised an eyebrow, "an intriguing request, and not one I get very often. What kind of information are you looking for?"
"Anything useful about Erin Ryder. I wanna know if she has any weaknesses."
[Brick]
Brick shook his head, not quite sure if he heard the girl correctly.
"Wait… you're telling me that you'll pay me to take your pet… Skag… for a walk?"
Erin nodded, "Well, he's more so the town skag since everyone likes to feed him and play with him and he likes to patrol the area, but I'm the one that picked him up when he was a pup and trained him. I need someone to do it for me because I'm not allowed outside of New Haven. He likes hanging out in a spot right next to the west gate, that's where you'll find him."
He must have looked confused because she continued, "Luka – that's his name – is a skag, and most people here are afraid to take him on walks because he can be a little…" she made a gesture, "weird. But honestly he's a total sweetheart that wouldn't harm a fly."
She paused then had to correct herself, "well, so long as that fly doesn't wear a mask and/or uses a gun. He doesn't like sudden loud noises and it scares him. And masks usually mean bandits, so… yeah. Other than that, he's very well behaved."
"Right… you're not trying to feed me to a wild skag are you?"
Erin shook her hands, "Oh hell no. He's got a sensitive stomach and pukes it right up."
"So, you've tried to feed people to him before?"
She pursed her lips, "I will neither confirm nor deny that."
"Why do you want me to walk your skag?"
"Because you look like the sort of person to solve their problems using their fists instead of a firearm."
Well, she wasn't entirely wrong.
A beat passed and she groaned. "Look, I've got an explosive Eridian artifact that will give you the ability to explode stuff with your fists, and 120$ with your name on it if you do this for me."
"Sounds kinda cheap to me… it doesn't seem that important"
Brick watched the panic in her eyes, "It's all I got. He gets antsy when he's alone for too long, and if he comes inside the walls…"
It was clear that this was incredibly important to her. Though he had to wonder why she left him behind in the first place.
"I don't know…"
She narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm guessing that there's something specific you need. What is it?"
"A place for me and my friends to stay while we're in New Haven. For free."
Erin bit her lip, folded her arms, and looked around. The motel was too expensive for her to afford. She thought about her workshop underneath the clinic. It should be large enough to accommodate five people. Maybe.
"I'll put you and your friends up for the night if you take Luka out for a walk."
"Erin!?" Scooter jumped up from the runner and hit his head on the gas tank, "Augh! Whoa whoa whoa. E, you're actually going to let people stay with you? E?"
Erin ignored him.
"Well? Have we got a deal?"
Brick pretended to consider it, "I'll take it."
[Mordecai]
"You seem busy, hunter."
Mordecai waved his hand at the vision of the dark-haired woman in his head.
"Haven't heard from you for a while. I thought you preferred to talk to Roland lately."
"You're not exactly pleasant to talk to."
"I don't get paid to be pleasant. What do you want?"
"Hmph. Regardless, I don't think asking for information on how to kill New Haven's favorite laborer was a good move."
"Oh, shut up. You're just some… weird … what-ever you are."
Her eye moved close in his vision and scrutinized him. He took a step back then shook his head before growling and leaning forward. That eye thing was always disturbing.
"What I am isn't important," she answered, frustrated, "what's important is making sure you gain the trust of the locals. You won't gain anyone's trust if you just kill everyone you don't like."
He waved at the angry face, trying to banish it from his vision.
"Look, from what I can tell Pierce and Marcus agree that she's one of the most dangerous and vicious people in New Haven. Also, that things would likely be better is she's dead. I'm doing the town a favor."
"They also said that she's one of the most useful to have around. I doubt it'll be much of a favor."
"Hmph."
The voice sighed, "Didn't Marcus also tell you it'd only be a waste of time to kill her?"
Mordecai walked faster as he remembered Marcus's laugh.
'I suppose you would be able to kill her eventually, but only after you've wasted every bullet and grenade in your inventory, assuming she doesn't split your head open with a lead pipe first.' Then he laughed harder, 'If you do manage to kill that little scamp, I'll personally restock your ammo for free.'
"I almost killed her before, I can do it again." Mordecai said, stubbornly.
"Almost."
"She'd be dead if Roland hadn't stepped in."
The voice was silent for a moment and he thought she was done talking to him.
"Don't lose sight of what's important here. Focus on finding the Vault first, personal vendettas can come later."
"Fine."
When Mordecai's vision cleared, he saw Erin handing a small object to Brick. She was saying something, her tone informative. Helpful.
Oh boy…
"Thanks for this," she said and glanced at the watch on her wrist, "I gotta report back to Zed, I spent too much time talking."
Brick grabbed her arm right as she began to run off, "wait, you're sure this will work?"
Erin slipped her arm from his hand, skipping backward and shrugged, "relax, Luka's a total sweetheart and super friendly. Feed him and he's your best friend."
Pivoting on the ball of her foot, she ran past the hunter waving, "Just try not to act like a rampaging murderous psycho!"
Mordecai walked up to Brick and looked at the can in his massive hand.
"What's was that all about?"
He studied the can of … skag food. "Erin said that if I take her pet skag, Luka, out for a walk she'll set up a place for us to stay, also I'll get an explosive artifact and $120.00"
"What? No."
Brick looked at Mordecai, confused, "No?"
"It's gotta be a trap. She's going to feed you to a skag. Assuming there IS a skag."
The berserker seemed unconcerned and shrugged. He began to explain, and the hunter couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You- you're actually going to go walk someone's skag for a place to say?"
"And the ability to explode things with my fists and $120."
He sighed, "you need to find a non-punching hobby. Fine. I'll go with you."
"Oh no," Brick said, shaking his head, "this sort of thing isn't for you."
Mordecai had eventually found himself standing alone on top of a building in the middle of New Haven. Doing… Nothing… At the very least he would have liked to have a drink, but the bar looked to sketchy. Probably selling paint thinner instead of actual alcohol.
Brick had told him not to come. Something about how Erin's skag didn't like people that wore masks or used guns, and how his presence might scare it and cause more problems. The body builder's trust in the girl didn't make any sense. But, on the chance he was right, he didn't come.
Mordecai looked around. At the very least he would have liked to have an area where he could see Brick meet this skag from a distance, but by the time he was able to get on top of a high enough building he couldn't see Brick or the Skag. It was likely they were already behind the hill of scrap metal, or he was eaten by sycthids. He would have to wait for a little while before he could confirm his suspicion. At least it'd give him a proper excuse to kill Erin.
He looked around New Haven with the scope of his rifle. Mostly idle, looking for anything interesting. He eventually heard shouting and looked in the direction of the noise.
What he saw was Erin standing over a man, holding a long rusty metal pipe like a spear. She stabbed it into the ground between his legs, causing him to yelp in fear and back away. Marcus came out, his face red with rage, yelling about something. A thief?
She crouched in front of him, smiling and said something, something along the lines of, 'I'll tell you what, I won't kill you if you do something'. He was too far away to hear exactly what she said, but he had an idea once the man pointed a gun at her and shot. He missed and started sprinting away. Mordecai watched as Erin lightly tapped the pipe against the ground, as if counting, and once it struck the ground the tenth time she gave chase.
He watched her run. She was fast, he had to admit. The thief had longer legs than she did, so she should have a difficult time catching up to him, but she didn't. But right before she was close enough to tackle him she took a different route, jumping over a stack of tires, running ahead of him, and cutting off his exit. Panicked he stumbled and fell on his face. Erin waited for him to stand and start running before she chased after him again. He tried shooting at her again, but she simply stepped out of the bullets path.
Nice reflexes.
It was like watching a game of catch and release, she was toying with the poor bastard. Mordecai laid down on his stomach, following the man with his scope. He had an idea, a dangerous one, but if she wasn't going to kill him…
He pulled the trigger.
Erin skidded to a halt when the body hit the ground, and he watched as she looked around for the person who killed her prey.
"Boom." He chuckled and stood, letting her know his location. When she spotted him, her surprised expression turned into one of rage. He could see her body shake, and she was ready to chase after him now.
"Erin Ryder! What was that gun shot?" Erin stiffened at the sound of Pierce's voice.
The leader of New Haven walked out of her office and approached her. They began speaking and Erin pointed at the corpse with the lead pipe. Mordecai couldn't catch much but figured it had more to do with cleaning the mess than finding out who killed him.
They exchanged a nod and Erin began to loot the corpse once Pierce left. The girl gave another glare at the sniper before picking up the body and carrying it outside the town.
Mordecai followed her outside, making sure to keep his distance.
"What do you think you're doing?" the ghostly voice of the woman rang out in his mind, "you're going to get yourself killed!"
He ignored the voice. Watching Erin stab her weapon into the ground, drop the corpse unceremoniously in a pile of junk, walk to a near-by crate and pick up what looked like a bottle of alcohol. She uncorked the bottle and poured out the contents on the body, then dropped it once it was empty. After rummaging around in her pockets, she grabbed out some kind of keychain. She unscrewed the top of it, taking out a small metal rod and striking it against the side of the keychain causing a fire. Was that a reusable flint match? Looked like a useful tool. She held the end of it in her teeth and took out a piece of paper, lit it, then dropped it on the body.
The body went up in flames, and Erin put the match away. She shifted her weight, pulled the spear-like pipe out of the ground, and glared at him.
"When the flames stop, we fight. You fine with that?"
"Challenging me to a duel?"
Erin thrust the sharp end of the pipe to the space next to his head, a very clear threat. She pulled it away then rested it on the ground, "does that answer your question?"
He felt a smirk tug at the corner of his lips, "Not too bright are ya? Bring it."