Chapter 22: Exile

They wouldn't follow me to chase Chain. I made sure there were more important things for them to worry about than revenge. The Rad-Away and radiation suits arrived the next day. The town gained that information and knew what was going to happen next. Without a word spoken, I packed up and issued the Special Forces to meet me at the entrance to town. Now that I had everything I needed, I walked to the armory and went to the closet. I grabbed a trench coat and held it in my arm. I grabbed a shortened pump-action shotgun and some shells, along with a rifle holster and put it in my pack. I put the shells in my pocket and grabbed a 10mm pistol and rounds and put them in my pack and the round in my back pocket. I walked to my house and fished out an old Vault-Tec bulletproof vest and threw it to the side for a better one from the armory. I went to the bar and I bought water and some bags of chips. I walked towards the gates with my new weapons. The entire town was there, along with Joe, Natalie, Victoria and Sarah. Joe was signing things and enjoying the publicity he got when I walked up to them. I looked over to a woman with a shaved head. She had on sunglasses, along with combat armor. She donned a scoped rifle on her back and a serious face.

"This is Tai." A guard informed me. "She's our best trained guard here... since Michael. The other guards call her a soldier because she takes her job seriously. She'll set up camp in areas that are deemed safe."

He then pointed to a boy who looked no less than 17 years old. He was skinny and seemed nervous, yet focused. He had brown short hair and no sign of facial hair. He shook when the guard pointed to him. He wore a regular shirt and cargo pants and had brown eyes.

"And this here is Manny. He's one of our best scavengers. He seems to find things just about anywhere. He'll be your guide through the ruins and the person in charge of food management. He's one of our younger troops, so go easy on him." The guard introduced me.

He then pointed to a burly man who was taller than everyone by at least three heads. He had a shaved head and no beard. He looked like a big ball of muscles. He had olive colored eyes, and cracked his neck when I looked at him. His clothes were a normal white shirt and long, loose fitting pants. His clothes seemed tattered, but not messy. He didn't seem to have a neck when I looked at him. I saw that he carried a large metal box on his back, along with a gun bigger than me.

"This here is Dimitri, he volunteered for this job. Seems to hate raiders. He'll be your muscle when you're traveling. He's got a giant gun that he always uses." The guard told me.

"Her name is Daniella. She is a .308 caliber automatic machine rifle and shoots 100 rounds per second. Don't touch." Dimitri said in a deep and unknown accent.

"Oh yeah, he says he from Russian descent." The guard said. Dimitri nodded his head in acceptance. Joe then pointed to a man with messy black hair and a defined face with soft blue eyes. He carried a satchel and utility belt with various tools. He had blood stained clothes that once seemed like it was a different color. He had an arrogant look on his face, and seemed like he was too good for this. His head was held high when the guard introduced him.

"This here is Doc..uhhm, what did you say your name was?" The guard asked.

"I didn't. I am a doctor and that is all sie need to know." The man said with an accent.

"Yeah, okay. Anyway he's your medic and tech guy. He's a master strategist and genius with electronics. He came from a town up north, where everyone speaks German. I forgot the name of it..."

"Die Starken Stadt: The Strong Town." The man said.

"Alright, well these are your guys, treat them well, Jace. Good luck." The guard said as he patted my back.

"I will." I said.

I walked over to Victoria and looked into her eyes. They reflected light more than anyone else's.

"I know that you might die out there." She told me as she felt her hand.

She handed me my engagement ring and walked away in tears. I looked at it and blinked slowly, remembering what I did to give her it. I sniffled and I put it in my pocket and looked over to Joe.

"I wish you could come with me." I told him.

"Someone has to take care of your daughter." He spat out at me coldly.

"And I'm glad it's you…"

He looked at me with bitter resentment.

"…It was always you."

I told him in a blank voice as I thumbed my engagement ring in my pocket and looked over to Sarah. I looked back at Joe and took the sheriff's badge off my torso and gave it to him.

"It suits you better." I told him.

Joe breathed in through his nose and didn't blink at me. I bent down to her.

"Do you know what I'm about to do, sweetie?" I asked my daughter.

"You're leaving me alone." She told me in a voice that beat out mine for the most depressed.

"No. I'm going to protect you. I promise. I know you don't understand but you will eventually." I inhaled and closed my eyes, opening them to see the green in hers. "I tried so hard to keep you safe, but now, there's nothing I can do about it. It's in your hands. And before you go out there and make something of yourself like I know you will, I have to tell you everything." I told her, quoting a man who knew more than anyone else who has ever touched the Wasteland. I knew she wouldn't understand, but one day she would.

"Why are you crying?" She asked me.

I tried to be as realistic as possible. "Because I may not come back to you." I said, choking up. "I need you to understand that."

She blinked, and her eyes began to gloss up with water. She still didn't know what I meant and it broke my heart when I realized I had more to say.

"And that's why you have all these people with you, Sarah. These people have done so much for you and in return they only ask you to be safe. Don't ever do what I'm doing now and please… keep Joe away from other women." I said with a smile. Joe exhaled and walked away. I painfully inhaled and cleared my throat.

"I'm sorry I don't tell you this enough, but I love you. Everything I do is for you. People may not understand my methods, but what I'm doing is right. I feel it, and one day, you'll feel it too."

"I… don't understand." She told me.

"You don't have to." I told her as I kissed her forehead. I got up and looked over to Natalie as she bowed her head to me.

"I know they're mad at you right now, for… whatever reason. But please don't die Jace, you mean the world to them." She told me.

"Well… they mean the world to me." I told her as I sniffled and wiped my nose.

"Take my daughter home and give her some Sugar Bombs. They're her favorite." I told her.

"She likes Gum Drops now." Natalie informed me.

"Oh…" I said disappointingly as I looked down. I couldn't even name my daughter's favorite food.

"But she still likes Sugar Bombs." Natalie added to try to cheer me up.

I nodded, and turned to the Special Forces. I picked up my shotgun and held it in one arm.

I looked over to the kid named Manny. "Lead…" I sighed halfway through "lead the way." I told him.

He saluted me and started walking quickly. The four of us followed him away from the town. The townspeople cheered and waved as we left. None of my best friends or family were with them. They cheered until we got so far away that the sounds faded away. The five of us were alone in the wilderness, with most of us unaware where we were going.

Back at Megaton, from the high hills near Vault 101 were a vast army of raiders, supported with New World tech, firebombs and grenades. The leader had a stop sign attached to plate armor. He peered at the metal city and then lifted his wrist up. He marked it on his wrist mounted-computer, with the words "Vault-Tec" stamped on the side. He looked at his men.

"If you can't take them with you… kill them." He ordered as the men charged downhill with 10mm pistols, bulletproof vests and batons, all issued by Vault-Tec. An aged woman walked next to him and folded her arms.

"I just need him. Make sure you don't get him killed. We need him." She told him.

"No promises." The leader told her.

END OF PART 1