Jayd left Goodneighbor at first light. The Sun barely peeking its way over the horizon, the demolished streets of what once a city was scarce of any danger, aside from a few packs of mongrels and a handful of feral ghouls napping in some abandoned car or a corner somewhere.
Last night had been fun, if not as chaotic as usual whenever she drank with Fahrenheit. Jayd had slept peacefully in her guest room in the mayor's estate, but, as always, her sleep was occupied by something else.
She always dreamt of a world that was basically sunshine and rainbows.
The world where the nuclear bombs never touched Commonwealth soil and people lived a luxurious life with fusion energies and cores used as the source to the rumored phrase: "American Dream." Everything looked clean—pristine even—if compared to the current state of Post-War Apocalyptic Commonwealth. There were no Mole Rats popping out of the ground to take a chunk your ankles, no Raiders out to kill you and loot your corpse just so they could satisfy their chems addiction, no Super Mutants ready to kidnap you and make you breakfast, lunch, and or dinner. The best part was that there were no Ghouls. Beings that were once people and now became brainless, radiated monsters.
Those things always freaked her out.
She was never alone in this dream. There was always a woman with her.
The same woman had golden, blonde hair, much like her's, but in a paler tone and longer in length. They both shared the same piercing blue eyes, only the woman in her dreams had a softer, more gentle warmth to her eyes. Unlike her's, she had survived through a world full of monsters. There was no warmth in her eyes other than the offer of a cold, merciless death.
The woman in her dreams was always sitting on a wooden bench, holding a baby barely a year old. Whenever she approached her, the young woman would look up from her task of entertaining the baby, as if she had sensed her presence. She would always flash her a smile as she rocked the little baby in her arms and she would only utter one word, a name:
Jayd.
Then the dream would suddenly end and Jayd would wake back up into reality—the reality that was the Commonwealth—where mostly anything and anyone was trying to kill her, given the chance. A world she had mysteriously found herself in with no recollection or any trace of her past. The only reason she knew her actual name was because of those strange dreams with the other blonde haired woman. An occurrence that both baffled and piqued her interest. Other nights she would get dreams of her being in a building, with nothing but pure, white walls, people in lab coats and—
The dream would always end there and she'd wake up, gasping for air. As if her mind and body subconsciously knew that place of white walls and people with white lab coats was nothing but trouble. Nonetheless, Jayd thought nothing of it.
The other city she was heading to wasn't far enough that she needed to get up early. She was more concerned for the straggles of Super Mutants, Ghouls, and Raiders on her way over. If she was to find a trouble-making ghoul with evil schemes, the blonde mercenary could only guess there was one place in the entire Wasteland that had desperate enough folks looking for a quick way to get a handful of caps.
Diamond City. Where anyone not human wasn't allowed, the rich enjoy simple luxuries, and the poor scrap through with whatever they can get.
Honestly, she couldn't understand why anyone would want to stay in that city in the first place. Nor could she believe a female ghoul of Bobbi's caliber would dare wander her into a city that would most likely jail her for "traversing" into "smooth-skin territory." Then again, any home behind a wall would be better than living out in the Wasteland, where mostly anything and anyone would be trying to kill you for either food or loot. It depended on the day. Jayd made her way through the debris filled streets, cars of the Pre-War past were left abandoned and rusted. She did her best to avoid keeping herself out in the open, with the intention of not getting shot out of nowhere.
There was another place, however; where Bobbi No-Nose could be recruiting people for her schemes. The Combat Zone was no stranger to the locals around these parts and it was one of the rare, few places of entertainments if someone was brave enough to go through Super Mutant and Feral Ghoul infested streets. Jayd had heart rumors that the Raiders had become big fans to the Combat Zone and had taken over what was once a somewhat friendly place to hang out in. Jayd doubted Bobbi would stupid enough to go into the Combat Zone if those rumors held some semblance of truth.
If she couldn't find Bobbi No-Nose in Diamond City, the Combat Zone would be her last resort.
Woof!
Jayd felt a sudden rush of adrenaline jolt out throughout her body, her hand instinctively grabbing for her pistol that was strapped to her right thigh. Within a matter of a seconds, she was crouched on one knee, her pistol raised with the barrel pointed towards the very source that made the sound.
Except the other being on the end of her pistol wasn't the threat she had expected.
Jayd blinked, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the sight before her. A moment later, she groaned, slipping the pistol back into its holster. "Goddammit, I thought I told you to stay at Concord."
The dog before her—a German Shephard, if she recalled correctly—stared at her with its round, black eyes, and one tongue happily lolling out from the side. Its tail wagging happily and haphazardly, sending a few clouds of dirt and dust into the air each time its furred tail smacked against the ground. She had met Dogmeat before, through weird circumstances when she just so happened to be travelling close a little farther up north. The dog had been alone, battling against a pack of Mole Rats when she had come around. She had helped him defeat the irradiated beasts and ever since then, the brown furred dog had started following her around, protecting her, and helping her fight.
Jayd didn't want to constantly risk the dog's life over the constant danger she would meet during her mercenary jobs. On occasion, she would leave Dogmeat with a few acquaintances of her's, especially the ones living up in Concord. They were good people, who were only trying to find some sense of normalcy in this destroyed world they were in. She trusted that they would take good care of Dogmeat whenever she left him with them. But she had learned that the dog was both brave and a cunning piece of work.
This wasn't the first nor the last she had suddenly met Dogmeat in the middle of the road. The dog had the knack of tracking her down easily. Dogmeat let out another round of happy woof's and bark's, circling around her with a happy gleam in his eyes.
Jayd smirked, gesturing with her hand for the dog to stop in front of her. "Alright, fine. You can come along with me. Don't wander off too far, okay?"
This earned her another series of happy barks from the dog. It didn't hurt to have another pair of eyes as she traveled the Wasteland for a little bit. It was better than sleeping with one eye open, whenever she had found one least demolished building to camp in for the night.
The rest of her journey went without any further interruptions other than silently getting rid of any feral ghouls along the way. Gunshots would attract even more trouble and Jayd wanted to actually get to Diamond City without wasting a bullet on something that she could avoid easily. She walked in and out of alleyways, keeping a close eye for any signs of danger. She could only guess Dogmeat was doing the same each time she peeked her head around the corner. There were some areas she couldn't avoid a firefight, especially with the Raiders having posted some sort of checkpoint in one or two of the buildings. The best thing Jayd could do was either take them out one by one or avoid the checkpoint entirely, if the opportunity presented itself.
――――――――――――――――
"I am not leaving, McDonough! My little sister lives here!"
"Then you shouldn't have printed that…slanderous, devious article!"
Well, she had heard of Diamond City was strictly "smooth-skin only," but she hadn't thought they would kick one of their own out for something as ridiculous as printing a piece of paper with random words on it; as far as she could tell from the two raised voices having a go at one another. From her perspective, the person wearing a red trench coat looked ready to rip McDonough a new one. The mayor was a familiar face that she knew all too well from her occasional stops to the mayor's office. While the short woman wearing the trench coat may have been someone she had seen in passing. Nonetheless, Jayd knew nothing else about her.
Wonder what she did to piss McDonough off, she wondered as she continued watching from a distance, standing by the entrance with her arms crossed against her chest. No one had yet to notice her, but from the bored looks of McDonough's guards, this seemed like a natural occurrence between the two. Dogmeat was seated on his hunches beside her, his head tilted curiously as a soft questioning whine reverberating from his chest.
"Who knows, buddy. I don't think they'd remember me; it's been a while." Jayd had worked a few odd jobs here and there for some of the residents in Diamond City. A few of her odd jobs caught the mayor's attention at one point, although not enough to give her any trouble; it was just enough to gain a few perks here and there with the locals. However, it had been months since she had last been to the city. Aside from a few, well acquaintances, she had kept mostly to herself.
Dogmeat responded with a soft bark.
Jayd chuckled softly, approaching the stadium's entrance. "Let's just hope he does remember me, boy."
As she crossed through, one of the other guards – Danny something? – noticed her right away.
"Oh, Ms. Jayd! We didn't think we'd see you around again."
Danny's greeting towards her interrupted the yell fest between the mayor and the woman wearing the red trench coat, all eyes going towards her and Dogmeat. McDonough, for once, seemed surprised she had arrived, while the red-trench coated woman looked at her piqued curiosity. But her presence was an opportunistic support, if not from someone who didn't exactly lived in the city. It was also another concern for someone who has overall authority over the city, as well.
"You!" McDonough exclaimed. "I thought I wouldn't see your no-good face around here again! I don't need any more trouble today!"
Jayd rolled her eyes. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of coming back here, McDonough, especially when it means I have to see that ugly mug of yours. Unfortunately, I'm here on personal business – "
"Now wait just a moment – "
"– personal business that won't affect you nor the citizens of Diamond City. I'm here on behalf of Mayor Hancock," Jayd clarified. "But, don't worry your pretty head over it. I'm just here to look for someone and I'll be out of your hair before you even know it."
The red-trench coat woman scoffed. "As if he's got any left."
McDonough turned a bright hue of red, his eyes glaring daggers at the said woman. Jayd smiled. She was liking her by the minute.
The mayor let out a harrumph, straightening out his tie. "Well, so as long as you don't cause any trouble for the guards, I suppose I'll let you in."
Jayd gestured with a mock salute. "Aye, aye."
With one last glare – whether it was directed at her or the red trenched coat woman – McDonough whirled around and strode down the steps leading to Diamond City, his entourage of bodyguards trailing after him.
Jayd was about to follow suit once McDonough had a good head start over her, but she was halted when the red trenched coat woman turned to her.
"That was interesting. Never thought I'd have the luck to witness someone stand up to McDonough and not get the boot," she said. "I'm Piper Wright, by the way. Founder and reporter for the Publick Occurrences." Piper stuck her hand out.
So this is the 'dame' the Neighborhood Watch always babbles about. Jayd shook it gently. "Jayd," she introduced. "And this is Dogmeat."
He let out a happy bark in response, his tongue happily lolling out of the corner of his mouth once more as he stepped closer towards the other woman.
Piper smiled down at him, crouching down to his level and scratching behind his ears. "Well, aren't you a cutie? You're a lot friendlier than those other doggies out there," she cooed.
Dogmeat barked happily and gave Piper's hand an affectionate lick. Piper momentarily in playful disgust. Jayd laughed.
"So," Piper stood up, wiping her licked hand dry against her pants. "How come I've never seen you around till now?"
Jayd shrugged. "I've worked odd jobs here and there."
Piper raised a brow. "Like a mercenary?"
She shook her head. No matter the amount of caps that was offered to her to assassinate someone just because of this and that reason, there would always be a nagging feeling in the sub consciousness of her mind, as if it was telling her she would never do something like this. "Never sold my skills for someone who needed somebody else killed. No, I mainly just go around, see if anyone needs anything done that they can't handle."
Piper's eyebrows scrunched together. "You don't accept payment?"
"If they're willing to pay me caps, that's fine. If not, nothing personal."
The other woman was silent for a moment, as if contemplating her answers, as vague and brief as they were. Jayd crossed her arms, waiting for anymore responses from the reporter. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the buildings that made up Diamond City. Already, she could imagine various nook and cranny that Bobbi No-Nose could be hiding in. Ghouls were still very much unwelcomed under McDonough's realm, but who's to say one can't blend in, if they were cunning and stupid enough to come here.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Jayd. Dogmeat," Piper said. "I better head on back inside before McDonough changes his mind. Think I'll see you around?"
Jayd nodded. She didn't plan on staying here longer than necessary, but a few days at most wouldn't hurt, depending on the results of her search. "We'll see."
Piper smiled, waving goodbye before making her down the stairs. Jayd watched her, her arms crossed against her chest. She wasn't sure about the reporter's angle towards her, whether or not she made a good impression on an esteemed individual such as Piper. She turned to her Dogmeat, who was still patiently waiting by her side.
"Ready, boy?"
A soft woof was her answer.