Hey world. I realize that I have taken forever to post a new chapter, very sorry about that. Had some trouble with the website and I didn't have good internet access at home over the winter break. Anywhos, here is chapter 21, finally.
Chapter 21
Rivet City. Nick has never seen anything like it before. Megaton is the only sizable settlement he has been through that wasn't destroyed by giant ants or run by slavers. This place though, wow. A massive aircraft carrier from before the war, washed up on the shore like some sort of dead sea creature. To even get to it a person has to be given access via an extendable bridge that the settles control. No wonder it is a center of trade. He is currently standing in the city market, completely overwhelmed by the buzz of activity. People are everywhere, and there are more of them than Nick has likely ever seen in one place in his entire life. Then there are the vendors, all vying for attention as they sell their goods.
Luther, Tyler, and Clover when to find them a place to stay the night. They asked Nick to buy some supplies for when they set off again. Nick had assumed that their stay here wouldn't be overnight. Deliver Bryan to his family here, find the Doctor who knows about his Father. Looking around now, his sorry Father can wait a little longer, probably dead by now anyway.
Bryan clings to his leg as their group navigates the crowded market. Behind him Charon is grumbling unhappily about how hard it would be to fight in such a crowded area. Dogmeat seems to be the only one having as good a time as Nick is. The dog is running through peoples legs, sniffing and barking at every new sound and scent. Nick was worried that the dog would cause some trouble, but most of the people just ignore him and the shopkeepers only ever send him away when he gets to close. It takes him a few seconds, but eventually Nick spots the gun shop.
He steps through some hanging lights and runs his eyes over the vast selection of weaponry and ammunition on display while Charon hangs back at the door. Looking at the guns, he is far from impressed. Nearly all of the weapons are damaged in some way or form. Just looking at them any asshole would worry about it blowing up in their hands. "Hey there," a man dressed in simple leathers greats, "the name is Flak. Welcome to Flak and Shrapnel's. Tell me what you are looking for. We got it all. Guns, ammo, armor, name it and we can provide."
Nick snorts, "This stuff is shit. Most of them should be at the bottom of a garbage heap."
The man gives Nick a new look of appreciation. "We keep the actual merchandise locked up. Only a fool displays their best. Now, what do you need?" Nick takes a quick inventory of all the weapons their group carries, rattling off the bullet calibers and how much they need. While Flak collects the ammo, Nick takes a look at the selection of weapon mods displayed next to a work bench. "Feel free to use the bench if you like, free of charge. Any mods you attache will cost you though." Nick takes his assault rifle off his shoulder and sets it down on the bench. The gun has served him well and was in damn good condition when he picked it up, but it sure as hell needs a good cleaning.
While he works on his gun, he notices that Bryan is picking up lots of different pistols. The boy seems to be trying to judge how much each of the guns weighs and if he would be able to handle it. "Looking to buy a gun boy?" Nick's voice is harsher than he intended and it surprises both him and Bryan, who quickly replaces the pistol he was holding.
"Um," he mumbles, "I thought it might be a good idea to know how to use one." Nick steps away from the bench and kneels down in front of the boy. He picks up one of the smaller guns and puts it in Bryan's hand. Then he instructs the boy in how to properly aim and how to pull the trigger. Then he shows him where the safety is, mostly because he is worried the boy will hurt himself.
"There," Nick says in a low voice, pointing to a can sitting up on a railing, "aim at that." The boy lifts the gun, just like Nick showed him and aims. the gun gives a loud click and Nick shouts, "BOOM!" in the boy's ear, making him jump and then laugh loudly. Its the first time Nick as seen the little tyke smile. He resists it, but eventually the boy's infectious laughter gets the better of him and he starts laughing too. Maybe it was just Nick's imagination, but he thinks he sees Charon crack a small smile as well. "All right," Nick manages to say after he stops laughing, "now you know how to shoot."
"Not bad," Flak states as he sets down several containers of ammo, "for a little shit."
Nick's entire mood shifts in about half a second. The smile vanishes from his face and the laughter in his eyes turns to hard steel. "Call him that again, and you will not live to regret it." Flak has dealt with a lot of crazies in his day and he has seen a lot of shit. He does not scare easy. Yet the sudden shift in this man and the absolute sincerity in his voice causes the old weapons dealer to shudder. "How much?" Nick demands.
Flak has already calculated the costs in his head. "Thee hundred and forty-six caps all together."
Nick's face hardens, "One hundred."
Flak sneers, "Please, don't insult me. I will drop down to just three hundred, no less."
Nick takes a step towards Flak and the merchant is suddenly aware of the stench of blood clinging to the man. Not that the smell of death isn't on everyone, but with this man, its is as though he has bathed in blood. "Two hundred."
Flak swallows past the lump in his throat and weighs his options. The man standing there does have a child with him, but does not seem to be a major concern for him, so he either does not care what happens to the boy, or he is so confident in his skills that he doesn't need to worry. Then there is the massive ghoul bodyguard who just stepped into the shop with its combat shotgun already in its hands. Flak grinds his teeth in frustration, then finally, "Deal."
"I am so glad my associate didn't have to blow your head off Flak," Everyone turns to see Luther and Tyler step into the shop. Flak is suddenly very glad he took the deal. No one messes with those two, no one. "Come on Nick, you to Bryan, there is someone you should really meet."
Tyler stands outside the Weatherly hotel while the others go in to speak with Vera Weatherly about Bryan living with her. When Luther and he mentioned that they were staying with a small boy from Greyditch the woman all but pounced on them and demanded to see the boy. From the sound of things inside the hotel, it is going well. Getting the boy to a safe place feels good, not to mention it will mean one less distraction while on the road. While Tyler is standing there, smoking a cig he just bought in the market, the captain of Rivet Cities guard, Harkness, walks up. "Tyler." he greats.
"Harkness. Have any more trouble with that Pinkerton fella?" A few years ago he and Luther helped the guard captain with a problem. Turns out the man is actually a robot built by a mysterious group calling itself the Institute. Somehow Harkness, one of the Institutes soldiers, escaped and rewrote his memory. The Institute sent a man by the name of Pinkerton to find him. Pinkerton had hired Luther and Tyler to find his missing property, when they discovered that it was Harkness however, they decided to tell him instead of turn him in. They helped Harkness kill Pinkerton and ever since have kept an ear to the ground for any news on the Institute for him.
"Actually I wanted to talk to you about that." Harkness indicates a different room and Tyler follows him inside. The guard captain then closes and locks the door. "I don't know who to trust. I have been hearing rumblings that the Institute is up to something big. Seems there is some sort of war going on in the Commonwealth. A group calling themselves the Minutemen are fighting a merc band known as the Gunners. I don't know all the details, but from what I have learned, the Institute most likely has a hand in the conflict. It could be they are trying to destroy the major powers before the launch some sort of attack of their own. I just thought I should let you know, seeing how you helped me."
Tyler shrugs his shoulders. "Honestly, Harkness, as far as I care the Commonwealth can fuck itself to death. Right now we here in the Capital have our own problems. The Supermutants are getting bolder. We encountered a well equipped group before we even got here. They were blocking the main rout, likely planning to cut off trade and bleed you dry before invading. Lucky we put a stop to them. They had a hostage, some girl who calls herself Renee. Brought her here with us, haven't seen her since."
Harkness takes all this in silence. The captain starts pacing and fiddling with the plasma rifle he always carries with him. "This is seriously bad news. I had thought the traders were just late or detained, I never stopped to consider that they were unable to reach us. Thanks for the warning, we will be more careful in the future." With that Harkness leaves the room. Tyler shakes his head. That man, robot, whatever he is, he has always been very abrupt. Tyler returns to their room in the hotel and sits down on a bench. Luther is dismantling and cleaning his rifle, Charon is standing with his arms crossed in the corner, Clover is passed on a cot, that mutt of a dog is sniffing everything in the room, and there is no sign of Nick. "Where is Nick?"
Luther waves a hand towards a closed door at the back of the room. "He found out there was running water and all but tripped over himself calling dibs on the first shower. Been in there for a while now." As if on cue Nick steps out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a ratty towel.
"Hey kid," Tyler growls, "you had better not have used all the hot water."
Nick flashes him a devious smile, "If I did nothing you can do about it now." Nick then walks over and pulls some clothes from his bag. "I just could not believe they have running water. I mean, seriously, who has running water? The places with running water in Megaton were the bars and their water was disgusting."
Tyler smiles despite himself. Seems everyone is in a much better mood than they were out on the road. "Don't get to used to the soft living kid, I recon we still have a lot of road ahead of us. Spoken to that Doctor yet?"
Nick shoots him a confused expression. "Doctor? Why the hell would I have to see a Doctor? I'm not hurt or anything."
Tyler stares at the kid, dumbfounded. "Doctor Li, the bitch who knows about your father? The main fucking reason we have been dragging our asses across the whole fucking Capital since forever now?"
Nick's face grows serious and Tyler can already feel the anger brewing inside himself. Somehow, he knows what the kid is going to say. "Honestly," Nick starts, "I don't even know If I really care about finding him any more. If I am being realistic, he is probably dead by now anyway."
The silence in the room is deafening. Everyone is staring at Nick, and all of them are staring angrily. "I cannot believe what I am hearing," Tyler growls, barely keeping his anger in check, "you have led us on this fucking man hunt and now you say you don't even care to find him? Why you little..." Before anyone can react Tyler has crossed the room and slammed a fist into Nick's face. "Fuck you kid!"
"Tyler!" Luther shouts, jumping to his feet.
"No," Tyler roars back, "I will have my say! We have fought, bleed, been shot, lost valuable work time, and all for what? Some fucking guy I have never met but who my entire life has been centered around for almost the past year! All because this fucking idiot of a kid wanted to find his daddy! Now he says, 'I don't care'! Well fuck you kid! You had better well start caring because we are going to find your dad now, if you want to or not! I will not have wasted all this time in vain!"
Nick stares up at him from the floor, clutching a quickly darkening bruise under his eye. "It is my decision." Nick states in a flat tone.
"No," this time it is Luther turning on the kid, "you made it our business when you got us involved, we all have a say in this now. You need to find your Father, even if he is dead. You need that closure. Can you honestly say you will not think about it every day for the rest of your life if you do not find him?"
Nick fixes Luther and Tyler with a level gaze. "I don't give a fuck."
Tyler can tell that he is about to snap, so he does the smart thing. Turning on his heal he marches out of the room without a word, seconds from tearing Nick's stupid little head off of his shoulders. Out in the hall all the settlers avoid him once they see the raging fury in his eyes. somehow he ends up outside on the ship's watch tower. The wind is blowing hard and the sun is setting. He is fuming and pacing back and forth on the small platform, his eyes glued to the ground at his feet as he attempts to calm down.
At some point an old man joins him on the tower and just stands there silently as Tyler paces. After however long, Tyler's furious energy is spent and he collapses against the guard rail. The old man walks up and stands beside him, looking out at the distance. "You ever have to deal with shitty young people?" The old man asks.
Tyler is actually surprised the man is talking to him, must take some balls with how angry he looks. "You have no fucking idea. You try and do right by them, knowing that you are a shit example of how to lead your life, then you end up angry with them when they start acting like you." Saying out loud, Tyler realizes that is exactly why he was so furious with Nick. Giving up on someone who is likely dead already because you honestly never cared about them in the first place is just the sort of thing he would do. Big change from the Brotherhood knight who would was wiling to sacrifice himself to save just on soldier.
"I understand," the old man says in a trembling voice, "what can you do for them?"
Tyler thinks for a long time before answering. "Truthfully, it would be best if we weren't even in the picture any more."
The old man gives a sigh. "I thought as much. Thanks for talking with me."
"Any time." Tyler grumbles, lowering his head and closing his eyes to think for a second. The sound of a splash causes him to jump to his feet and look around frantically, the old man is gone. He leans over the railing and can see only the barest ripple of water below. "Well, shit."