Chapter 18: One Good Neighbor

We talked for what seemed like hours in that dark, dingy back room, Hancock pouring the wine like a fountainhead even as Ilya and I strained to stay awake. It had been a long night in that library, even longer still after nearly losing my head. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but didn't dare let Hancock out of my sight. The way the man kept leaning in towards Ilya, always with the offer of another glass of wine, had me on edge, but thankfully, Ilya knew enough to keep her wits about her. Despite this distraction, it was clear, the more Ilya talked about the vault and our discoveries, the more excited he got. By the end of it all, he looked more alive than I had ever seen him, even the mention of Nuka World couldn't curb his enthusiasm. He just brushed it off with a wave of his hand as he poured himself another drink.

"But… wait, aren't you worried? Not even a little bit?" Ilya asked, the disbelief apparent in her voice, "Surely that can't be true, after all, Jacob said the place was an absolute fortress, overrun by madmen and monsters that turned it into an ungodly death trap! He said there was no way in, and no way we'd ever make it out alive…"

"Oh, did he now?" Hancock said silkily as he leaned back in his chair, "Well, it just so happens that I rule an entire city of madmen and monsters, in fact, it seems to be a bit of a specialty of mine. Stick with me, sweetheart, and you and I will walk through Nuka World as easily as if we were strolling down the streets of Goodneighbor. Guaranteed."

I scoffed.

"You got something to say there, Burnsie?" Hancock asked.

"Yeah, doesn't somebody die every day in the streets of Goodneighbor?" I said as I raised my brow.

"Only those that deserve it, my friend…" Hancock replied with a dark smile and I scowled.

"Oh come off it Hancock," I said with a roll of my eyes, "You know it's not going to be that easy, between the raiders and the radiation, we'll be lucky to get past the main gate alive. That place is going to be hell on earth and you know it!"

"Perhaps… But I think you're forgetting just who you're talking to. Why, I just so happen to be one of the most influential men in all of the Wasteland, well, all the Commonwealth anyway. Why, I'm a champion of raiders and scavvers alike, besides, I've already done business with Nuka World before. You just gotta know the right people and what channels to go through… Something someone like you wouldn't know nothing about. Hell, word is on the street people would rather shoot you as soon as look at you!" Hancock laughed as I glared daggers from across the room.

"Ah, excuse me…" Ilya interjected as politely as possible, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but… Did you just say you could actually get us inside Nuka World without getting caught? Truly?"

"What's the matter sweetheart, don't you trust me?" He said as he flashed another charming smile.

"Oh! Well now, I-I didn't say that exactly… but well," she blushed ever so slightly as she trailed off, "If I'm being perfectly honest? No, Mr. Hancock. I don't trust you. Not even a little," Ilya admitted, a look of concern upon her face, unsure what a man like Hancock could be capable of. Luckily for her, Hancock only laughed.

"Ha-ha! Smart girl, honest too. I like that," He replied, "And after all, how can I blame ya? This ugly mug's the kinda face only a mother could love, and even she'd be hard-pressed not to put a bullet between these eyes. Listen girlie… I don't want you worrying your pretty little head about a thing, you hear? You're in Hancock's hands now and that makes you as good as gold, so you can trust that I'll get you wherever it is you need to go. You have my word. Now! Onto more pressing matters…" He said as he got to his feet.

"The two of you look about ready to keel over, and while I don't care so much about Burnsie here, I'd still rather if we made it past ten feet out the door before one of us croaks, bad business and all that. Besides, my contact won't be available until tomorrow anyways, so I suggest the both of you get some rest while you can. For you, Miss Astor, there's a small bedroom just down the hall to the right. Burnsie however, oughta feel right at home here on the couch, it'll be a right nice upgrade from that doghouse he's been sleeping in, at the very least! Just know that you are one hundred percent safe as long as you are in my care, and please, if you should need anything, anything at all, you need only ask."

Ilya smiled warily as she got to her feet and shook the man's hand, but before she knew it, he was bending over in another low bow and kissing the back of hers. Ilya blushed a light red before uttering a quick 'thank you' and rushing off to her bedroom, a large smile on Hancock's face as he watched her walk away.

"Hell of a day, eh Burnsie?" He said with a sigh and I shot the ghoul a glare.

"I know what you're doing, Hancock… And it's not going to work."

"Doing? Doing what? Why, I'm just trying to help out that poor sweet girl anyway I can… In fact, the more I think about it, the more I have to wonder what it is you're getting out of all of this. After all, you had plenty of time to escape. I would have just as soon assumed you were dead, crushed under about twenty tons of dirt and rock, if not for you gallivanting halfway across the Commonwealth with a pretty vault girl on your arm. If you'd have bolted for the border the second you saw first light, I'd have never caught up and you'd have gotten away scot-free… So, why didn't you? C'mon, Burnsie, I've seen the way you look at her… Not that I blame ya or anything, but do you really expect me to believe you're just doing all this out of what…? The goodness of your heart?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," I said through gritted teeth.

"Sure, ya don't Burnsie, sure ya don't," he replied with a hearty laugh, "Just like I don't know what you're talking about… But then again, you are the great white knight of the Brotherhood after all, so I guess I shouldn't put it past you to be that stupid," he laughed again as he tossed me a moth-eaten blanket and headed for the door, but at the last moment he stopped and turned.

"Aw, c'mon now friend, don't look so glum! Try to think of it like this… You're alive, you're breathing, and you actually get to live another day! I'd call that a win in my book, of course, whether you manage to make it to the vault in one piece, now that remains to be seen. I know I'd just hate to have to console poor Miss Astor over your untimely death…"

And with that, I nearly snapped.

"If you so much as lay one hand on her head, Hancock, I swear to God…"

"You'll what?" Hancock laughed, "You're not exactly in any position to threaten me Burnsie, besides, I have a feeling Miss Astor and I are going to be good, good friends here soon enough, just you wait and see… In the meantime, I suggest you get some sleep. You're gonna need it."

And without another word, he shut the door and locked it behind him.

The night seemed to stretch on forever as I tossed and turned on that couch, every creak and sigh of the old place sending dark shivers down my spine. I didn't care if Hancock had given his word, I wasn't about to trust that bastard any farther than I could throw him. For all I knew, he could be hiding in the shadows right now, ready to slit my throat any second and run off with the girl for himself, never to be heard from again.

That is not going to happen. I thought firmly to myself, looking over towards Ilya's room for about the hundredth time, but even so, my eyes were growing weary, my aching body crying out for relief. I just had to think, there had to be a way out of this one… If only we could sneak out of here, then maybe, just maybe, we could make our way to Bunker Hill or even Covenant, but even if they did take us in, they'd only protect us for so long if Hancock followed with an army at his back. Besides, I had already checked the exits a hundred times over and there was a guard posted at every single one, not to mention all the commotion from the other room that told me Hancock's good ol' boys were still partying well into the night.

The last thing I remembered was staring at the ceiling, counting the stars winking through the rafters above, when suddenly, I found myself standing back in front of the altar, the crowd screaming for my head once more. I spun around as I searched for Ilya, desperate to get her out of here as fast as I could, but she was nowhere to be found. The people in the stands threw rocks and broken bottles down upon me, their faces contorting into inhuman grimaces until they had become nothing more than a ravenous horde of feral ghouls. The creatures began to climb down from the balcony, starving for flesh, but before I knew it, I heard Ilya's scream echo from a door to my right and I raced after it without hesitation.

The hallway went from burnt wood to dirt and steel, and suddenly I was back in the mine, tunnels twisting and turning in a never-ending spiral down into the earth and towards Ilya's cries. The ferals had followed me down into the dark, always one step behind as they chased me through corridor after corridor. At last, I found myself in a large dark room filled with mechanical debris and quickly shut the door behind me.

I stumbled along the walls as I searched for a way out, the horde bound to break through any second, when my hand landed upon the hard metal of a large switch. I quickly flipped the handle and a light flickered on above me, revealing a sleek metal door covered in strange scientific symbols that I couldn't quite make out. It looked odd in this place, hidden in the dark depths of an ancient tunnel. And yet… I almost felt like I knew this door, like it was something from my past that I desperately needed to remember. I didn't know what lay beyond it, or why it was so important, but all I knew is that it contained all the answers to everything I had ever wanted to know.

I frantically yanked on the handle, but the door didn't budge. I searched the walls for an access panel or a computer terminal, but there was nothing. Nothing but a cold slab of steel in the way of the only thing I'd ever wanted.

I pounded against the metal, screaming at the top of my lungs as I demanded to be let in, but the sound only echoed into the endless dark. Suddenly, a sound startled me from behind and I spun around on my heels, the room much larger than I had remembered. As I hit the switch again, more lights began to flicker on around me, only to see that it was not debris on the ground at all, but synths. Hundreds of them. Piled high in a massive broken heap… and every last one was wearing my face.

I stumbled back, horrified as the creatures began to move, lurching towards me with their skeletal hands outstretched. My breath caught in my throat as my own face bore down on me, cold lifeless eyes staring through great cracks in their broken masks. At last, my back hit the wall behind me, giving way into a vast nothingness where I tumbled forever into a dark and endless void.

Suddenly, I woke up on the floor in a sea of sweat, my blanket wrapped around my legs as I struggled to get to my feet. Before I knew it, there was a knock on the door and one of Hancock's ghoulish goons walked inside, glaring down at me with a hard look on his face.

"Time to get up, jackass. Boss says you've slept in long enough and everyone's waiting in the main hall, so hurry the fuck up!" He barked the order before slamming the door behind him, leaving me to gather my things and my dignity before I headed across the hall to knock on Ilya's door. To my surprise, it fell open at the slightest touch and in an instant I feared the worst, whipping it open only to find the room empty, Ilya nowhere to be found. At first, I thought Hancock must have snatched her up in the night, but there was no sign of forced entry, no sign of a struggle. It was then that I saw a quickly scrawled note sitting next to the bed.

Jacob~

I got up early this morning, but I didn't want to wake you. I've decided to help Mr. Hancock prepare for the journey ahead and will be back shortly. See you soon!

~Ilya

At the sight of those words, I felt a flash of fury rise in my chest.

Without another thought, I stormed out into the main hall, my heart hammering in my chest and my finger on the trigger as I scoured the room for any sign of the girl. The entire hall was bustling with activity as Hancock's men lugged supplies back and forth, building up a large pile around the altar. The men all glared daggers at me as I made my way across the room, the mood having soured significantly since last night, but I didn't care. If me keeping my head ruined your good time, then I was more than happy to disappoint. Besides, I had more important things on my mind right now.

What on earth was that girl thinking, going off on her own with these people?! I fumed silently to myself, How could she be so damn foolish! I thought she had more sense than this…

At last, I spotted Ilya through a group of Watchmen, her smile a sight for sore eyes even as I stood seething. She waved happily as she hurried her way over to me, calling out to me by name.

"Oh Jacob, there you are! I was starting to worry…"

"Ilya! What do you think you're doing?" I whispered angrily as I pulled the girl aside, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Well! A very good morning to you too, sunshine!" She huffed as she crossed her arms, "I can't tell you how sorry I am that I thought you might like to sleep in after such a hard day, but you're right! I see now how very selfish that was of me!" She added with a roll of her eyes.

"Look, I know you were skeptical about this at first, and honestly so was I! But now that I've seen how serious he is about helping me, everything he's willing to commit to the cause, I've just been blown away! For the first time Jacob, we have a real shot here! We really might be able to get through Nuka World and find this thing! By the way, that reminds me. You need to come and see this, it's incredible!" Ilya said as she grabbed me by the hand and led me onto the stage, where a large spread of supplies sat upon the altar. Not only was the table laden with weapons galore, from pistols to shotguns, lasers to grenades, but it was stacked high with all kinds of food the likes of which I hadn't seen in months, maybe years. Even I couldn't help but be a little impressed with it all, though I'd certainly never admit it out loud.

"Oh, and check this out! We've got a detailed map of the full park layout, complete with known raider hideouts and settlements; food, water, and ammo to last us weeks; and, get this, he even managed to score me some Fancy Lads snack cakes! And they're not even irradiated, look!" She said as she held up the box with glee, "I told him they were my favorite as a kid… Looks like it's no more scrounging for us, eh 'Burnsie'?" She giggled playfully as my tempers began to flare.

"Dammit Ilya, did it ever occur to you that these people just might be dangerous?" I said as I grabbed her by the shoulders, "That Hancock might not be such a nice guy after all? They could have stolen you away in the night, never to be heard from again! You have to be more careful than this, Ilya!"

"Oh, stop it now Jacob, don't be so dramatic… Why, I'm perfectly fine!" she said as she pushed me away from her, "Besides, I don't think John would do something like that… He really isn't as bad as he seems, in fact, I'd say he's been nothing but helpful since we got here!"

"Ilya, you don't understand! They didn't just grab me for some kind of shakedown, hell, before you came on the scene, they were about to… Wait a minute, did you say 'John'? Who the hell is 'John'?" I stopped with a furrowed brow. We didn't know anyone by that name, no one I knew anyway. That was, unless…

"Why I do believe my ears are burning… Did someone say my name?" I heard the voice and spun around to see Hancock standing there, that smarmy yellow-toothed smile plastered wide over his ugly face. Nobody, and I mean nobody, called Hancock 'John'. Just what the hell was going on here?

"Well, well, well… I was wondering when you'd finally show up, Burnsie! So nice of you to join us after we'd already finished with all the hard work, but I suppose better late than never, eh? I know we wouldn't want to accidentally leave you behind… Now wouldn't that just be a cryin' shame?" Hancock said as he threw me a pack of supplies and I growled in return.

"And where exactly have you been?" I snapped back as I inspected the bag, "Letting your goons do the heavy lifting while you take all the credit, I presume?"

"Me? Why I was just… ah… persuading our dear friend here to be a bit more cooperative, he is our secret weapon, after all. He may have given me a little trouble at first, but I think he's got the message now. Ain't that right, buddy?"

"AHHG! How many times human, MY NAME NOT 'BUH-DEE!'" As soon as I heard that guttural growl, I spun around on the spot, just in time to see the super mutant called Strong appear from around the corner.

My jaw dropped at the sight of the beast, what was Hancock thinking?! There was just no way… We wouldn't make it a mile with that monster in tow, let alone manage all the way through Nuka World! Not only would that massive frame and booming voice get us caught in an instant, but if we so much as turned our backs on the beast, he'd be crushing our bones flat beneath the nearest boulder.

"Hancock, you can't be serious… You're actually going to bring this… this… thing?! I mean, are you trying to get us killed? Besides, I thought we were just meeting with a friend of yours, not raising an army to storm his settlement! Is this how you treat your friends?"

"Friend? Friend?!" Hancock laughed as he shook his head, "There ain't no such thing as 'friends' out here in the Wasteland, Burnsie-boy! No, this fella we're meeting with is more of a, ah… business acquaintance, so to speak. He's the sort of high-class fella that just so happens to deal in the lowest common denominator, in other words, in people like me. And there's only one thing that people like me understand… And that's brute-fucking-force, so that's what we're gonna give 'em. With both barrels."

"Well, you certainly seem to have enough trust in these people to call them your friends, and all I see are freaks, low-lives, and degenerates."

"These people?" Hancock said with a scoff, "Why, these people are not my "friends" at all, but my brothers and sisters… My family. In fact, I would trust them with my very life… Which is certainly more than can be said for you, eh Burnsie? But perhaps we should just call up the Brotherhood of Steel and see what they have to say about that… Shall we?"

"Wait, Brotherhood of Steel?" Ilya asked curiously, "What's that? I've never heard of them before."

"It's nothing," I snapped as fast as I could, but it was already too late as a dark smile spread wide across Hancock's hideous face.

"Oh, so you don't know, do you?" He said with the cock of his brow, "Well, imagine my shock…What else haven't you told her, Burnsie? Did you bother to mention that the world had ended, or did that happen to slip your mind as well?"

The heat rose to my face even as I seethed beneath the surface, but there was nothing I could do. Hancock had me over a barrel and he knew it, not only that, but he was enjoying every second. The breath hitched in my throat as I watched the wheels turning in his head, mulling over which would be more humiliating… telling the girl now, or holding it over my head for the next hundred miles? Ilya's eyes darted nervously between the two of us, a look of confusion on her face as the tension began to grow so thick you could almost cut it with a knife.

Just then, the door slammed open, the sound nearly startling me out of my own skin. I watched as Fahrenheit entered the room, a stern scowl on her battle-worn face. One look from her and just like that, the mighty Watchmen of Goodneighbor were scattering like cockroaches at the sight of a flame, back to their work without a word. As she approached the rest of us, she glared at me a thousand degrees colder than the iciest nuclear winter, and I could tell she was none too pleased with Hancock's decision to let me go, but she knew better than to question her almighty leader. As she leaned in to whisper into Hancock's ear, I could see a flash of anger ignite behind his jaundiced eyes.

"Is that so?" He said dangerously as he narrowed his eyes, "Well, if that's how he wants to play it, then that's fine with me… What time did you say the next performance was?"

"About thirty minutes, but that's just the matinee," the woman replied, "The main event is happening tonight around happy hour, giving us just enough time to get out of here and make our way across the city. If we leave right now, then we just might be able to make it."

"Well, I suppose that settles that!" The ghoul said as he turned back towards me once again, a smile on his face that told me our conversation was far, far from over. "Guess you've lucked out again, eh Burnsie? Keep this up and I just might make you my lucky charm!" He laughed as he slapped me across the back, nearly knocking me off my feet.

"All right men! You heard your commander, party time's over! Looks like we've got ourselves a show to catch…" Hancock barked the order and his men scrambled to attention.

"Show? What show?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Why none other than the best damn show this side of the Charles River! Well, except maybe the old Vault 114 whorehouse, boy that place used to be wild…" He trailed off with a wistful look of longing upon his face.

"Seriously Hancock, where are you taking us?" I insisted.

"What, and ruin the surprise? C'mon Burnsie, where's your sense of adventure?" He said with another grin, "Now, no more questions! We've got a long road ahead of us and not a lot of time, so let's roll out!" And with that, the men lined up behind him and Hancock lead them out of the church in formation, leaving Ilya and me speechless in his wake.

"This is complete madness…" I managed to say as I shook my head and turned to the girl, but she only shrugged.

"I don't know, Jacob, he really seems to know what he's doing," she replied before putting on her pack and holstering her own gun, "but then again, I had always wanted to go with Detective Valentine, so I'm just happy we actually have somebody willing to help us for once! I mean, I know he may be a bit rough around the edges, but how bad could he really be?" She added before running after the group, eager not to be left behind.

I stood in the vast empty hall alone, barely able to process everything that had just happened. My entire world had been flipped upside down, and worse yet, Ilya seemed blissfully unaware of the danger we were getting ourselves into. I looked around the cavernous room, the dust beginning to settle for the first time since I'd set foot across its threshold. I couldn't help it as another dark shiver rushed up my spine, how close had I really come to certain death? Even a moment too late and I would have been a goner, and these dark and empty halls would have been my last resting place for all eternity.

How bad could he really be? I heard Ilya's last words echo in my ears.

"If only you knew," I said to myself as I checked my gun and followed after her, "If only you knew."