"Okay, connect this here… Move that there…" Cassie muttered as she fiddled with the satellite relay at the top of the Washington monument. Obtaining the dish from the Virgo II was a relatively easier task than Jericho would have thought. He had been expecting some big ass maze filled to the brim with super mutants and booby traps. In reality there were only a handful of muties, a couple staircases, and one dull-as-shit Vault life tour.

"Got it!" The girl sang out as she connected the last few cables. She brought up her pip-boy an tuned in to Galaxy News radio. Three Dog's voice was ringing through clear as day as the over-zealous D.J. cheered and praised the girl for fixing his lousy radio station.

"Will you shut that asshole off," Jericho snapped glaring at the wrist-bound device, "His voice is giving me a headache!"

Cassie switched off her radio and yawned, "I just wanted to make sure it was working," she looked at her pip-boy again and shrugged, "When did it become two in the morning?" the girl stretched and breathed out a heavy sigh, "I'm beat after all that running around."

"Well there is a bed here…" He motioned to the filthy mattress lying on the floor and grinned back at her, "Of course… We would have to share princess."

The kid's eyes narrowed, "I believe a saw a ghoul on patrol on our way here… Gob did say something about a city near here," She walked back to the elevator and pushed the button, "Maybe they have a hotel."

"A city of them rotten zombie fucks?" Jericho shuddered at the thought. He wasn't afraid of ghouls but they were probably the one thing he'd like to refrain from touching if he could help it. The only reason he could stand Gob was because he was always drunk when he was around the leathery bastard, "You mean you really want to sleep in a bed one of them have been in? The sheets would probably be all gooey and shit."

The vaultie spun on her heels, "None of that when we get to that ghoul place okay?" He muttered some curse under his breath and looked away, "Hey… don't do that," She reached up and gently placed a hand on his unshaven face, "I need you to be polite to them while we're there okay."

He couldn't stand this contact. Ever since the kid had offhandedly said that she loved him, Jericho had been acting like that dumbass ghoulie Gob. Just a few weeks ago he would have torn that ass up had it suited him, in fact he almost did that night they'd crossed paths in front of his shack.

But now look at him, putty in the hands of a girl at least half his age. Pathetic.

"Promise me, kay?" Cassie withdrew her hand and walked into the elevator as the doors slid open, "I don't want to get into any unnecessary fights."

Jericho stalked in after her and pounded the button for the ground floor, "Whatever kid, but if I stay in a place like that too long I'm going to have to kill somebody."

Neither of them said another word about it on their way down in the elevator and things stayed tense until they made it to the Museum of Natural History.

Much to Jericho's displeasure, the girl was right about there being a ghoul city nearby. It was a place called Underworld, properly named too. The place was swarming with those leathery flesh bags and smelled like a pile of bodies that had been left in the water too long. It made Jericho's skin crawl.

Cassie, however, didn't seem to notice the smell of decaying corpses and was in awe of the place, "Wow! Look at that statue! It's so cool! And look at all these ghouls, this place is amazing!" Whatever fatigue she had been experiencing back at the monument seemed to have disappeared. He couldn't understand why the kid was so starry-eyed and excited, they were just a bunch of zombies.

"Hey Jericho, why don't you go find us a hotel room," She tossed him a sack full of caps, "I'm going to explore!" Before he could even get a syllable out the girl had zipped off up the stairs leaving him alone in the middle of his worst nightmare.

He stood in the entrance way of the Underworld and looked around. One of these… people had to know where he could get a room. Trouble was, he didn't very much like the idea of having to talk to these disgusting maggot farms.

Jericho clenched his teeth and put away his Chinese assault rifle as he tried to determine which of these ghouls looked the most human. His thoughts, however, were interrupted by the familiar sound of jets propelling something large and metallic through the city.

It was a Gutsy.

Jericho hated robots with a fiery passion. They were clumsy, loud, and tough as shit to kill. But under the circumstances, robots were much easier on the eyes than these abominations, "Hey. Metal guy. Come here."

The Gutsy flew over and responded in a metallic military tone, "The name is Cerberus civilian, and I don't need to take shit from you. I have enough to deal with protecting these disgusting creatures."

"If you don't like 'em why protect 'em?" Jericho asked quietly, hoping that none of the ghouls were eavesdropping. It'd really put that girl's panties in a knot if he got into a brawl.

"It's this damn combat inhibitor," Cerberus shot back disdainfully, "If this thing ever breaks the first thing I'm going to do is send all these rotten bastards to hell," It hovered quietly for a moment, "You don't seem to like them either. What's keeping you from exacting my fantasy?"

"Not that it's any of your fuckin' business but I have a combat inhibitor too… That idiot girl I came in here with has a soft spot for these freaks. If it weren't for her I'd shoot that inhibitor right off you," He growled, "Anyway, you know where I can find a place to bed down?"

"That'd be Carol's civilian. Top of the stairs on the right. Move along," The Gutsy jetted past Jericho and resumed it's little patrol.

"Whatever," He muttered under his breath before following the thing's directions to the hotel. The ghoul woman inside was sickeningly kind to him and offered him a bed that was fenced off from the others, as if she sensed his hostility towards her type. It cost him one hundred and twenty caps, but the best she could do was offer him one bed that could hold two people, which meant that he and the kid would still have to share.

Jericho had no problem with that.

He shut the partition that separated their area from the other creepy zombie bastards they were sharing the room with and sprawled out on the bed. He decided to wait for the kid. After all, she'd probably be back soon enough. Then they could get some sleep and move on. No more museums. No more stupid requests. No more ghoul infested cities. Just go and find her prick hole of a dad.

For now the best thing to do would be to rest up and forget this place even existed. The bed he was on wasn't too comfortable but at least it wasn't gooey. Maybe he could fall asleep here…

If he could just get over that smell.

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Author's note: The next chapter will handle the hiring of dear old Charon. Although you're not supposed to have more than one follower (I'm not counting Butch) I'm going to have him travel along with Jerri and The Vaultie. It'd put a nice strain on things wouldn't it?

*grins wickedly*