It had been two days since Talon Company's assault on the Ranger Compound before Sgt. Pepper was cleared to walk about freely. The Lone Wanderer had insisted that he be the one to 'extract' the information from him. With little more than a nod from Reilly the Wanderer had taken the old merc into the storage room. Nobody, not even Brick had dared to enter to see what was going on.
For her part, Brick had been a little shaken up. Not because of her 'spar' with the Wanderer, but because of just how many bodies littered the street that night. Dozens of well-trained, well-armed mercs cut down by a single man. She couldn't make sense of it. No single person should be able to do that, and yet the Wanderer had gotten away with it without a single scratch. She wasn't sure if she should thank him or run away from him. In fact, the only thing she was sure of is that the Lone Wanderer was a monster in human disguise.
Miles and Kilo had been more talkative since that night, though only with each other. They had suspected that the Wanderer was good, but prior to that night they had attributed it to pure luck. Now they knew exactly why he was so feared: He didn't fight fair. His tactics, his weapons, his ability to seemingly disappear before the naked eye. It all screamed 'unfair' in their minds. Then there was his seemingly unbearable presence that could come and go as easy as a cool breeze.
Donovan and Reilly shared the same opinion on the Wanderer, that he could turn out to be the greatest asset the Rangers have, the worst enemy they could have, or he could simply do to them what he's done to so many others. He could disappear from their lives one day without any trace as to where he's gone off to. Unknown to the Mechanic, Reilly had hoped he wouldn't do that. Only time would tell what the Wanderer would decide to do.
"So what, we're just going to let a Talon Merc walk around here now?"
A sigh escaped Reilly as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She was really getting tired of having to defuse any situation Brick was in.
"After two days alone with him," the redhead paused, hiking a thumb in the Wanderer's direction "you still think that Pepper is planning on hurting us?"
The Wanderer observed the conversation from a dark corner of the room with a raised eyebrow in mild interest. He had interrogated the old Sergeant and had come to find that not only did Pepper not intend to hurt the Rangers, he didn't agree with the way things were being operated in Talon Company. Jabasco had lead a coup against the previous leader and shortly after taking the position himself turned into a vengeful, merciless monster.
His thoughts were interrupted as Brick stormed off, slamming the door to the Command and Control room behind her. He glanced over to Pepper to see his head in his hands, likely suffering from fatigue from being kept awake for two days.
Reilly approached Pepper and dropped something metallic on the table beside him. Looking up, the saw it was a bad of about 150 caps. "That's your signing bonus" she said as he looked at the bag "You can take it and work for us, or you can go out and find another way to make a living." As his eyes met hers, she noticed how tired he looked.
"I don't suggest going back to Talon Company. They're officially on our shit list now, and our.. acquaintance here is about to get a job offer." She finished, looking to Michael. His hood and lower-face mask were both up, so she couldn't see his eyes nor his raised eyebrow.
She tossed a large bag of caps his way, not knowing if he was paying attention. She was slightly startled when his hand quickly snatched it out of the air. "That's your signing bonus if you stay on with us. If not, that's your reward for helping us with all of this." She watched as Michael weighed the bag in his hand.
"We're going after Talon Company once we get our shit together. I was hoping you'd be joining us for that." The redhead shifted her weight to her back leg, awaiting his answer.
His hooded head slowly rotated in her direction "I was planning on doing that myself in a few days time. If you're going to participate that'll change a few things for my plan. Possibly in my favor."
She nodded her head and looked back to Pepper, clearly expecting an answer. Pepper was exhausted, mentally and physically. He still had friends in Talon, friends who felt the same as him about Jabasco. "There's something you need to know if you're gonna do this. A lot of the guys I know don't agree with Jabasco. Good men, just trying to make a living. If you let me, I can get them with you. With us." He finished, picking up the bag of caps. Reilly looked to Michael for confirmation.
The Wanderer, knowing that after what he put Pepper through the old merc wouldn't dare double-cross him, nodded. "Fine. Hit the rack, get some sleep. Once you're up we can go over the plan." The grizzled old man grunted, quickly leaving the Command room. Clearly he was eager to get some sleep.
After a few short minutes of standing alone in silence, the Wanderer left the room. Reilly cursed under her breath and left to follow, leaving a bewildered Donovan as he tinkered with his pet project.
Reilly was stealthy as she followed him outside, making as little noise as possible. A former Brotherhood Scout, through and through. Unfortunately, the Wanderer was better than that. When she opened the door to the outside, he was gone. She cursed again as she walked out into the 'yard' of the compound, eyes scanning the area. Behind her, the Wanderer leaned against the door she had just exited. "Looking for someone?"
Reilly made a high-pitched sound as she jumped, clearly startled. She quickly recovered and swung around on her heel, glaring at the Wanderer. Gone was his hood and mask, instead a smirk was placed on his face. She marched up to him and put her finger on his chest "You will tell no-one about what just happened. I don't care if you are a ghost, I'll pummel you into the dirt if you do"
The Wanderer's smirk only grew in size as she spoke. "You sure you can beat up a ghost?" He asked, engaging the Stealth-Boy function with little more than a very small, very deliberate movement of his fingers. Her mouth opened and her eyes went wide as he disappeared before her very eyes. Testing him, she swung a fist at where his head was moments before only to hit nothing but air. She heard a chuckle behind her "Now that wouldn't have been very polite"
She turned on her heel once again and planted a foot in the direction of the voice, once again only to hit air. There was no malice in the attack, though. A smirk was clearly seen on her face, and her green eyes screamed of mischief. "You want to play, huh?" A disembodied voice echoed around her as she kept her head on a swivel. The rising sun could be seen cresting the building to her east, light shining onto her face, blinding her momentarily.
Before she her eyes could adjust, she felt her legs being sweeped out from under her. No strike followed, however. Picking herself up, she once more got into her signature fighting position. "Awfully confident, aren't you? You should know something like that won't deter me." she said, voice full of mirth.
A voice echoed throughout the courtyard, preventing her from pinpointing his position. "If I'm over-confident, you're downright cocky."
A slight shifting of the dirt a few feet to her left could be seen, and that's all she needed. She spun around, sending a high roundhouse kick to what she assumed was his location, only to have the kick caught by an invisible force. In a single, swift move she was planted on her back again. She groaned as she picked herself back up, her backside soar from hitting the dirt and rocks so hard.
"Well this isn't quite fair. I can't see you." She said, dropping back into her stance.
"Oh, you know me.." his voice echoed once more "... I don't fight fair"
Her eyes widened as she swung around, the voice having been directly next to her ear. Her elbow made contact with something, but just as quickly her arm was twisted behind her in a light hold. Her other elbow went back with tremendous force and speed in an attempt to hit him, but that was also caught. Now she stood, slightly bent backwards as he held her arms. Suddenly, she was released and pushed forward, stumbling slightly. She turned around and saw he was once again visible. She watched as he dropped into a fighting stance of his own.
For a minute, neither combatant moved or spoke. Their eyes were locked, her green eyes shining in the sun, still full of mischief. His icy blue eyes seemed to glow from the shade of the building behind him. Her tell was small and he wouldn't have noticed it had he not been 'The Lone Wanderer' as she shot forward, a flurry of kicks, elbows, and punches heading towards him. Unfortunately for her, he was 'The Lone Wanderer' and he had seen the tell. A slight twitch of her left hand. As each strike came for him, he batted it away, redirecting the force and energy of the attacks.
She had noticed he hadn't actually thrown a punch, elbow, or kick the entire fight. All he was doing was blocking her attacks, even as they moved up the staircase of the building across from the Ranger Headquarters. Reaching the top floor, she tried to change that, falling out of her stance and throwing a kick straight forward, aimed at him stomach. To her surprise, he caught the foot in his hand. A second later and she was on her back again, a forearm across her neck which was also pinning both of her arms to her chest, one of his legs pinning one of hers, the hand that caught her foot now wrapped under the knee of her once-outstretched leg. His free leg between hers, pressing right against her crotch. She shifted slightly under him and her voice hitched in her throat, clearly feeling where his leg, specifically where his knee was. If he noticed he didn't show it as his eyes peered into hers, a very vibrant smile plastered onto his rugged face which was inches away from hers. An equally large on her face smirk mirrored his. "Being awfully forward, aren't you?"
"You started it."
He had anticipated six different ways she could've gotten out of the current hold he had on her. Six different movements. None of them involved her head. That's why she was able to surprise him as her head moved upward, her lips landing on his. For the short moment he didn't respond, she had feared that she just ruined everything. Then, his head shifted slightly and her kiss was met with a positive response.
Breaking the kiss, he took a breath and began to speak "We really shouldn't do th-"
Reilly knew what he was going to say and she wouldn't have it. Not today. Not now. She cut him off, her lips striking his ferociously, her tongue probing, ask if asking for permission. The last bits of his self-control began to crumble away as his tongue met hers.
Prehaps it was his own deep-seated desires coming to light after having gone so long without any kind of non-violent physical contact. Maybe it was what she did to him, bringing out a side of him that he thought long dead. Whatever it was, Michael forgot all about why he shouldn't be doing this when Reilly's hips began rocking slowly, rubbing herself with his knee that had yet to move. The kiss was broken again as she moaned throatily in response to him pressing his knee flush against her.
Reilly's eyes were squeezed shut as she focused on the growing feeling between her legs. She felt a hot breath on her neck before lips replaced it as she rocked her hips. Gone was the threat of the wasteland. The dilapidated buildings surrounding them melted away as she steadily gave into the feelings Michael was bringing to her. She bit her lip as his hands began to explore her body, slowly moving up her sides, his thumbs cresting the outlines of her breasts. A small whimper could be heard she begged for more.
One of his hands slipped under her shirt and made it's way to one of her breasts, where he groped and pinched and twisted, all the while she was moving lewdly under him as her breath came out in shallow pants. It wasn't long before her shirt was pulled off and thrown to the side and his mouth found one of her nipples. He made a mental note of the four-leaf clover tattoo on her left arm. She placed a hand on the back of his head, holding him close to her chest. Her legs were spread now with is knee grinding against her.
Soon one of his hands traveled south, playing along the edge of her waistband. Blue eyes met green, and permission was granted as she once more captured his lips with hers. Although surprised by the complete lack of hair, his hand traveled on towards her core. Even inches away he could feel it's heat. Slowly, delicately, he began to massage her hot, wet sex with his fingers as a groan escaped her lips. With his duster, armor, and shirt thrown to the side long ago, her fingernails clawed love letters into his back.
His thumb found her clit, rubbing it in circles before pressing a finger into her moist folds. Her head tilted back as she let out a whimper and he once more planted his lips upon her neck. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind in that moment, all of them involving him. His middle finger slowly worked it's way in and out of her as her walls tightly squeezed him. Her orgasm was drawing ever closer, and they both knew it.
In the blink of an eye, her pants were gone. Thrown to the side with the rest of her clothes. Her body trembled as he kissed her passionately and then proceeded to plant light kisses down the valley between her breasts, down her stomach, edging closer and closer to her hot sex. She watched with baited breath as his face came upon her womanhood and softly cried out when he planted a final kiss upon her sensitive nub.
Michael began to trace a circle around her core with his tongue, teasing her even as her fingers bunched up in his hair. After she could take no more, his tongue finally met her labia, tracing along her slit. She was sweet, almost like honey. He wanted more. His tongue began to push into her, licking up and down, side to side, deeper and deeper. He was positioned in such a way that as he licked, he also stimulated her clit. Her body shook as her orgasm approached. His only warning was the slight, sharp pain as her fingers squeezed his hair before a river of the sweet nectar met his probing tongue, even as her walls clamped down on the moist object. The orgasm lasted almost a full minute as he never stopped his ministrations.
She tugged on his hair, signaling him to stop and come up for air. Pulling his face to hers, her lips met his, and her tongue met his in a sexual battle of dominance. Like all battles, Michael had eventually won.
Her hands went to his pants, signaling she wanted more. Specifically, all of him. Her hand traveled along the large bulge for a short moment before unzipping him, setting it free. She wasn't entirely surprised at his size, but still somewhat amazed. She wasn't sure if it would fit, but she was going to try anyways. Pushing him onto his back, she straddled his waist with raised hips, her incredibly wet sex dripping onto the tip of his cock. Taking hold of the base, he slowly rubbed the head against her moist slit. Her hips rocked back and forth, sliding along his hardness.
Then, her eyes met his once more. Her hands found purchase on his chest as she lined herself up and slowly sank herself down upon him. The mushroom-like head spread her labia wide as it entered her. After a few short inches, she stopped and his eyes widened as she spoke "One hell of a first time, eh?"
With that, she dropped the rest of her weight down, taking all nine inches of him into her. There was some pain, but it was quickly washed away with the accompanying pleasure. She leaned completely forward and he met her lips with his. It wasn't a completely lustful kiss. It wasn't a chaste kiss, either. It was a kiss that was full of love as his hands stroked her cheeks. Her long red hair surrounded their faces, but there was enough light to see that when the kiss stopped, they were both smiling.
After another moment, she began to move her hips. Slowly, delicately, and with caution. He was large, both in length and width, and she was small in both size and stature. Every time she sank back down upon him, she could feel the tip of his manhood pressing right against her cervix. She didn't know what she would do when his orgasm approached. Would she climb off? Stay on? Would he push her off? Did she even want to risk that, risk getting pregnant? Did he want kids? All those questions and more raced through her mind before coming to a complete halt as his hands lightly grabbed onto her thin waist and he spoke. "You're beautiful"
Just like that, the questions fell to the wayside. The only thing she wanted now was to be with him, to experience this with him. She'd worry about all that later. Her hips began to move again, faster this time. Her wet folds accepted every inch of him, as if it were a perfect, destined fit. Each time she came down his tip prodded the entrance to her womb, and each time that happened it only made her want more. It was a fast-paced yet gentle coupling.
Michael knew he should be able to last long enough for her to cum again, but he wasn't sure if he'd be able to last longer than that. He didn't know what he wanted to do when that time came, much less what she wanted, though from her movements he guessed she wasn't worried about that. Eventually he began to meet her half-way, thrusting up into her. Her moans drove him crazy. He reached up and began to fondle her breasts, playing with them, lightly twisting her nipples as she bounced up and down. Her walls were squeezing him as she slid up and down his length, her moans and mewls came to be longer in time, a sign that she was close. Then, it came all at once. She fell down onto him and nearly screamed as her second orgasm took hold of her.
He couldnt have anticipated just how tight he'd be squeezed inside of her. So hot and wet and tight. A primal instinct took over as he grabbed her waist, holding her in place as he came. Hot, thick ropes of white goo were deposited directly into her womb, the mouth of her cervix wide open with the tip of his cock on the other side. She could feel him filling her up, and the shock of it along with how good it felt triggered a second consecutive orgasm. Her body shook on top of him as her pussy milked him of every drop of cum he had to give her. After a few long moments, she fell forward onto his chest. In that moment, she wasn't worried about the future. All she cared about were the hands that wrapped around her tightly, holding her to him. She noticed neither one of them bothered to remove him from her, effectively sealing his essence inside of her he hadn't gone soft like she would have expected him to.
"Hey" she heard him say in a soft, loving voice she once thought him impossible of having. Tilting her head up to look at him, her eyes widened with his next words. "I love you."
He kissed her softly and she responded in kind. Afterwards, she spoke "I love you too."
Minutes passes as they laid there together. Nothing more had been said, as nothing else needed to be said. She did notice, however, that he had yet to soften. In fact, when she shifted, he throbbed inside of her. Smirking and biting her lip, she began to slowly rock her hips. "You're insatiable" He said, groaning.
"Look who's talking"
"Touché"
Slowly, she pulled herself off of him. She crawled forward, her dripping sex on full display to him. "Hurry up and stick that monster back in me" Reilly stated with a seductive smile.
Michael only let out an exasperated sigh as he crawled behind her, lining himself up. He heard Reilly let out a groan as he pushed into her half way, and a contented sigh after he pulled her the rest of the way back onto him. As he began to move, he reached forward. One hand focused on her breasts and nipples while the other rubbed her clit as he pistoned into her. Getting used to the rhythm, Reilly began to meet his thrusts halfway, essentially fucking herself onto his cock.
This time, it wasn't a loving, tender embrace. It was a lust and passion filled primal mating between a predator and a submissive female. Indeed, Reilly submitted to him wholly and completely, not even thinking of protesting when his hand left her chest and went to her brown, puckered hole. He grabbed the accompanying cheek as he pressed his thumb against the orifice. Reilly relaxed that set of muscles, allowing his thumb access. A wave of pleasure washed over the fiery redhead as she was sexually dominated. Her cries of pleasure resounded in the decaying building, sounding more like an animal in heat. Her tongue eventually lolled out of her open mouth. Her breaths became more ragged by the minute.
Michael leaned forward again, his target this time was her neck. First, it was a kiss. Then, a bite. This triggered Reilly's release, as once more an orgasm overtook her, racking her body. Her wet cunt clamped down onto his cock, massaging him, squeezing him, almost even pulling him deeper into her. Her eyes glazed over as she felt him reach his release, opting once more to not pull out, filling her womb to the brim. As if planned prior, they both slumped slightly forward, and then to the side, softly landing on the floor. He wrapped his arms around her body, holding her against him as if she was his possession. Though, in both their minds, they already belonged to each other. This thought was reaffirmed when he planted a single, chaste kiss in the same spot he had bitten. She was his, and he was hers.
They laid there silently, basking in the afterglow of their coupling. Questions creeped into both their minds, wondering what they would do now. Reilly wondered if he'd stay with her, and Michael wondered if he'd be able to protect her. They both thought about what they had just done, Reilly blushing at the thought of it all. Would she get pregnant? Could they handle a child? Could she even get pregnant? It was common for women who have a lot of exposure to both Radiation and Rad-Away and Rad-X to become barren after so long. She was still young, but the thought remained. Did she even want a child?
Question after question popped up, all remaining unanswered. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, hot air expelling onto the back of her neck. She could also feel him inside of her, still hard. She couldn't believe it. As if reading her thoughts, he spoke "Sorry. No refractory period." The words took a moment for her to process before she blushed a decidedly crimson, almost matching her hair. Surely she'd be walking a bit funny after this, but if they continued, she wasn't sure she'd be able to walk at all. The thought didn't deter her, however. In fact, it excited her. Michael took notice of it as he could feel her walls squeeze him lightly. He let out a chuckle, but refrained from saying anything more.
They had made love two more times, bringing her an additional three orgasms while he had two. She hadn't wanted to stop, but he had to convince her that if they didn't return soon then the others would get suspicious. After getting dressed and each having a cigarette, Reilly helped Michael on his original mission when he left the compound- Loot the dead Talon Mercs.
As they looted, she saw how quickly and thoroughly Michael searched the bodies, pulling caps, cigarettes, whiskey, and extra ammo from the pouches on the armor each merc had. A nearby shopping cart was required, as he also stripped the mercs of the armor plates and LBE, leaving only the clothes behind. Weapons, armor, ammo, luxuries. Every dead merc was completely stripped of their belongings in under ten minutes. Reilly saw Michael turn towards the entrance to the Ranger compound and stare. She followed his eyes and as if on cue, Donovan rounded the corner with his now working pet project, a Sentry bot.
He looked at the two with a raised eyebrow, knowing it wouldn't have taken this long to loot the mercs, but was wise enough to keep his mouth shut. Whatever they did, Reilly seemed to be in a much better mood, and that's all that mattered. "Looks like you've already got this under control. Just thought I'd introduce you to Bolts, our newest member.
The couple shifted their gaze to the Sentry bot. Michael noted Donovan made a few adjustments that probably required another Sentry bot. Bolts, as Donovan called it, had some major modifications. Dual-mounted miniguns on the shoulders, extended rocketpods on one arm, and Tri-Beam laser cannons on the other. Along with this, Bolts had a paintjob. The iconic green paint with the Reilly's Rangers 'tattoo' on the chest. The Wanderer simply gave him a thumbs-up, while Reilly checked over the bot, making sure Donovan had remembered to add extra plating near the sensitive components, such as the target selector.
The change in Reilly's demeanor was noticed almost immediately among most of the other Rangers. She walked with a skip in her step, and the way she spoke became more friendly. Overall, this was a positive change, but those who noticed were curious as to what had happened. When Kilo confronted her about it, Reilly simply cocked her head to the side and asked what it was she were talking about. Too embarrassed to press her, Kilo let it slide. She had an idea as to what had happened, but wasn't going to share her theory with the others. If she were wrong, there'd be hell to pay, and the Lone Wanderer would be the debt collector. Even were she right, she had a sneaking suspicion that both Reilly and the Wanderer were keeping it quiet for a reason.
Almost an entire day after going to sleep like a rock, Pepper had woken up from his deep, snore-filled sleep. When this was noticed, Reilly assembled a briefing as to what the Wanderer's plan was for Talon Company.
"Pepper, how many guys do you think would side with you over Jabasco?" Michael asked, trying to figure out exactly how much firepower to put where.
Shrugging, the old Sergeant yawned. "I don't know exactly. At least three. Maybe five or six if they're all at the fort."
Michael wrote down a '3' on the paper in front of him, written on it was a list of assets. "Alright. Donovan, is Bolts combat ready?"
Donovan simply pressed a button on the makeshift PiP-Boy on his arm, and Bolts responded for him. "THIS UNIT IS OPERATING AT 97 PERCENT COMBAT EFFICIENCY"
Reilly observed as Michael once more wrote something down onto the paper. It was shorthand, so she couldn't understand it.
"Here's the plan: Sergeant, you're going to go back to Talon Company alone. You're going to find the guys you think will side with you, and you're going to get them out of that fort. Don't make contact with Jabasco or his operators. Just get in, get your guys, and get out."
On the table the Wanderer unscrolled a hand-sketched map of the fort, courtesy of Sergeant Pepper. Circling the watchtower to the east, he continued "You're going to go to the east watchtower. Relieve whoever is there of their watch. If you have to kill them use this" He said, handing the old merc an incredibly rare gun; A Colt M1911, with an Osprey suppressor.
"Single stack, .45ACP-"
"Suppressed, eight plus one. I know, I used to have one" He said, completely focused on the weapon in his hand. "Lost it in the Capital building after losing ground to the Super Mutants. Wasn't anywhere near as clean as this one though."
Michael shrugged "If you live, you can keep that one. I have more." Ignoring the wide-eyed sergeant, he looked to Miles."
"You and Kilo are going to be on the hill to the west providing overwatch. Don't shoot unless someone is pinned down or about to be hit. You need to stay there the entire time until ex-fil."
Michael looked to Reilly "You, Brick and Donovan are going to come from the east along the defilade. You shouldn't be spotted if Pepper and his guys do their job."
He pointed at the manhole entrance "I'm going to go stealth. With a little luck none of you will have to fire a shot. Otherwise, the signal will be me" He paused, pushing a button on his PiP-Boy. Suddenly, without Donovan's order the bot went to the Wanderer's side "sending Bolts up the middle, through the fence. It's armor is good enough to stop most of the rounds they're going to throw at it. Donovan, you'll be taking control of it after the signal."
Michael turned to Pepper "With the Sentry bot, nobody is going to notice the friendly fire until it's too late. Dig in and hold that area. Reilly, Brick and Donovan are going to cut the fence with some bolt-cutters and reinforcing you. Miles and Kilo should keep you covered."
"What about you?" Brick asked the question they were all wondering
"If I'm spotted, I'm going to make sure they don't get any reinforcements outside to you guys." He said, his eyes turning to ice. They all knew what he meant. Pepper slightly winced at the thought of all the guys he knows getting torn to shreds.
"If I'm not spotted, then you'll see Jabasco being dragged out of the other entrance after I find out why he's been attacking us. He'll order a stand down and I'll pin him to the wall. After that, hopefully they'll go back to living somewhat normal lives. Otherwise, we're back to plan B and we kill them all."
