Author's Note: Once again I feel like this chapter took forever. I'm really sorry if it did. No one to thank this time except my usual reviewers. You guys really are awesome and your kind words keep me writing! This chapter is mostly dialogue but it introduces a surprising ally, not OC, and Ray has a little meet and greet with a certain group of hitmen. You know the drill, please review!
Wasteland Survival Part 8
*A week later...
Ray lay awake, staring into the dark space above his bed in his darkened house. It was about 3 A.M. But, he couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Burke and the strange man that Gob had told him about. He had been trying to find any information possible, but no one was of any help. He wasn't sure whether the man was one of Burke's goons or a member of Talon Company.
Ray sighed any turned onto his right side. He didn't have any connections in the Wastes outside of Megaton, and no one in Megaton (except Gob, of course) knew anything about Talon Company or Burke. Besides the fact that Talon Company was a group of heartless opportunists who would do anything to make some caps.
Ray clenched his jaw in frustration. Wait, what about... Suddenly Ray's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar creaking sound. It sounded like the front door of his home. Ray quickly sat up. There was a barely noticeable click as the lock turned back, sliding the deadbolt home. Ray slowly lifted himself out of bed, reaching to the nearby desk and pulling out his 10mm. Panic was beginning to blanch itself in his chest.
Ray flicked off the safety on the gun and slowly and silently made his way to the top of the stairs. He peered into the darkness, seeing three humanoid shapes. The dim kitchen light that was always on, cast its low light over them. Ray could make out black combat armor and the shapes of the guns they were holding. One appeared to be holding an assault rifle, the next a 10mm, and the last brandishing a combat knife. Ray's fear grew. They were blocking the door, and there was no way he could get around them.
He turned and crept back into his room. Take out the biggest one first, he thought to himself. He suddenly heard the gentle squeak of the stairs and saw two of the shapes come into view. The knife wielder went into the room next to Ray's and seconds later Ray heard Wadsworth loudly falling to the floor. That slam could have waken the dead. Ray heard one of them curse, then there was silence.
After a few seconds Ray decided to pretend he was asleep. He quietly crept over towards his bed and crouched down beside it. Then, he snored loudly to trick the intruders. Soon, a shape slowly made its way through the door. Ray recognized it as the knife wielder. Ray carefully raised his 10mm and aimed for the intruder's head. In the dim light he could make out the man's face and it definitely wasn't anyone that he knew. The man's face was twisted up into a snarl and the knife was held at the ready. Ray slowly exhaled and pulled the trigger. The bullet went cleanly into the man's head, killing him instantly. The other shape that had followed the – now dead – man up the stairs rushed into the room. Ray squeezed the trigger again and shot the second intruder in the head.
Ray flipped the light switch, turning on all the lights in his house. The last merc stood in the middle of the living room, his assault rifle aimed where Ray stood at the top of the stairs.
"So, here's the target. I expected a challenge," The merc said cockily.
"If you shoot that gun, it's going to be very loud and people are going to come running, so just leave now because any other way it will get messy," Ray said calmly, his 10mm pointing at the merc's head.
Realization flickered across the merc's face, but it was gone just as quickly as it came. "Then, I'll just have to be quiet," He said, suddenly rushing at Ray, swinging the assault rifle like a club. He swung it in a wide horizontal strike. Ray gasped and launched himself to the right, colliding with the railing there. The merc rushed Ray again, swinging another strong horizontal strike. Ray grabbed the railing with both hands, vaulting over the railing and down into the living room below. He landed on his feet, but painfully rolled his ankle. He cried out from the sudden shock of pain and fell to his side, grabbing out for his ankle. The merc came barreling down the stairs and slowed as he reached the bottom, casually walking towards Ray's downed form.
"You didn't put up a very good fight," The merc said simply before placing his heavy boot at Ray's neck and forcing Ray down until he laid helplessly on his back. He raised the assault rifle, the stock ready to bash Ray's skull in. Suddenly, there was the sound of the door coming open then the merc's head was redecorated with a bloody hole. The merc fell, landing on top of Ray. Ray sputtered and shoved the body off, jumping to his feet.
Jericho stood in the doorway, his combat shotgun gripped in his hands. "You're welcome."
"Thanks. But, how did you know? And what took so long?" Ray said, clearly confused.
"I DO live right next door jackass, so I could hear that pea-shooter going off. By the way, you may want to rethink that shitty lock on your door," Jericho said. With that, he walked right into the house and turned the dead merc onto his back. He briefly examined the dead merc's armor, his face twisting into a snarl as he recognized the logo on the chest-plate. "Talon Company? What did you do to piss off these douche bags?"
"I've never seen them before in my life! I think they were hired to come after me."
"You must have pissed someone off. I'm interested, honestly, but very tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow?" Jericho said with a yawn.
"Sure," Ray said cautiously.
"Moriarty's. 3 o'clock," Jericho said, turning to stand in the doorway.
"Please don't be drunk."
"No promises," Jericho said with a smirk before walking out of the house, shutting the door behind himself. Did Jericho really just save my life, then have a somewhat civil conversation with me? Ray wondered to himself as he looked at the mercs' dead bodies.
...
The next day at precisely 3 o'clock, Ray shoved open the door to Moriarty's Saloon. He briefly went over last night in his head, including how he had told Lucas, cleaned up the mess, and turned Wadsworth back on. He examined the room, finding Jericho propping himself up at the bar. Ray took a seat beside him and wasn't surprised to see a full whiskey bottle in front of Jericho. However, he was surprised to see that Jericho wasn't drunk.
"So tell me, who sent Talon Company after you?" Jericho said, grabbing the whiskey bottle and uncorking it as soon as Ray sat down.
"You remember that guy in the suit, Burke? He was in here not too long ago," Ray began.
"How can I not remember that fancy ass freak?" Jericho said, taking a sip from the bottle.
"You got that right. He wanted me to blow up Megaton."
Jericho choked on the alcohol, throwing himself into a coughing fit. "Are you kidding me?"
Ray shook his head. "Nope. Burke was a class A psycho. Well, I told him the bomb had been disarmed. He seemed pissed, but he just said that his employer wouldn't be satisfied and that he better not find out that I did it because I have no idea who he is. And I have a hunch that maybe he works for Allistair Tenpenny. According to what Gob said, Burke seems like the perfect sort to work for Tenpenny."
"You could be right. He really fit the bill. Clean skin, all dressed up, seems snobbishly sophisticated. You're probably right. But, you should really be worrying about Talon Company right now. They won't stop coming until you, or all of them are dead," Jericho said.
"Can't we just kill Burke and they'll stop?" Ray said with a sigh.
"Are you stupid and deaf? I said they won't stop until YOU or ALL OF THEM are DEAD. If you kill Burke, they'll just go to Tenpenny for their pay. They may be tough but they aren't completely stupid," Jericho grumbled, taking a long drawl from the bottle.
"And what Burke wanted me to do seemed like it was a big job, so chances are he's important to Tenpenny, so Tenpenny would pay up," Ray responded. He felt like he had just fallen into a deep pit filled with Brahmin shit. He had to worry about Talon Company, Burke, and Tenpenny. Ray slammed his head onto the counter and groaned.
"You want a drink? It helps," Jericho offered, poking Ray with the bottle.
"No, I don't drink my problems, I deal with them," Ray said harshly.
"Well, have fun with that," Jericho said, taking another drink.
"Do you think that, maybe, you could... help?" Ray asked weakly. He couldn't believe the words as soon as they fell from his lips. He was nearly positive that Jericho would rather make out with Gob than help him.
Jericho shrugged. "Meh, why the hell not? Killing people is funner than sitting here with my thumb in my ass all day. Besides, I hate Talon Company."
Ray's jaw nearly hit the floor. Jericho accepted his plea for help? Surely a second apocalypse would happen now. Jericho had hated Ray ever since he had moved into town, immediately calling him a goody two shoes, white knight, and many other less than pleasant things.
"We aren't gonna get very far with just the two of us. I'm one of the best fighters around here, but that's not enough to take on about a hundred pissed off Talons and whoever else they throw at us," Jericho said.
"No offense, but why are you helping me?" Ray interrupted, still dumbfounded by Jericho's response.
"Well you asked so nicely," He smirked, avoiding the question.
Ray sighed. "The real reason?"
Jericho sighed and took a heavy hit from the bottle before speaking. "I told you I really hate Talon Company. Back when I first became a Raider, we bumped into a group of Talons. I was only about seventeen. Cocky and inexperienced don't mix well," As Jericho said that, Ray immediately thought of Reddin, "Anyways, our leader was a real hot-head. The Talons called us trash and shit like that, and our dumb ass leader went off. He attacked them, but he was like me, cocky and inexperienced. They massacred us. I was nearly dead, and they thought I was, so they left me there. I was the only one who survived. Those guys in my group were like family to me," Jericho concluded with a barely noticeable trace of sadness in his tone. He quickly composed himself and drank heavily from the bottle.
"I'm sorry. Why aren't they still coming after you though?" Ray said.
"I told you they thought I was dead. Plus, no one contacted them and hired them to kill me. Now, who did you have in mind to help us?" Jericho asked, lowering the bottle from his lips as he changed the subject.
"It's a slim shot, but when I was in DC delivering that letter for Gob, I ran into the Lyon's Pride group of elites from the Brotherhood Of Steel. I was thinking that maybe Sarah Lyons, the leader of Lyon's Pride, would help."
"I'm pretty sure that the Brotherhood have bigger fish to fry than worrying about you," Jericho responded.
"It's worth a shot. Besides, we don't exactly have a lot of options," Ray said confidently.
"Whatever you say," Jericho said sharply.
Ray sighed. If Jericho kept being an ass, this was going to be a very long trip.
Gob made his way over to where Ray and Jericho sat, his eyebrow muscle raised.
"Ray, you do realize you're sitting next to Jericho, right? Are you drunk?" Gob said quizzically.
Jericho glared daggers at Gob. "I realize that, and no I'm not drunk," He lightly chucked, "but I need Jericho's help."
"With what? Being a douche?" Gob asked.
Jericho flicked the ghoul off with his unbroken finger.
Ray laughed. "Look, it relates to the guy that kicked his ass. That's all you need to know," Ray said, fearing that letting Gob know anything further would endanger him as well.
Gob shrugged in response, beginning to wipe off the bar with a dirty rag. "I do have a question though, Gob," Ray began.
"Go on," Gob graveled, continuing to wipe off the bar.
"You told me you explored the Wasteland for a little bit before you were captured by those slavers, did you ever come across a place called The Citadel?" Ray asked, remembering Sarah telling him about it during her brief visit when he had been laid up in GNR. It was The Brotherhood's heavily fortified headquarters.
Gob's brow muscle furrowed as if in deep thought. "I believe so. It was a long time ago. There was a guy wearing power armor out front, I remember asking him what the hell the place was. He said it was The Citadel and that's all I needed to know, then he sent me on my way."
"Sounds like the place I'm looking for. Do you remember where it was?" Ray asked pulling out his worn map and a pencil.
"I think so," Gob stammered, reaching for the map. Ray handed him the map and watched as his milky eyes studied the worn hand drawn map. Gob traced his ruined finger along the line that made up the Potomac. "There," He said finally, placing his finger on a spot just outside of DC. Ray sighed in relief as he realized he wouldn't have to make the long trip through the metro tunnels to get into and through DC. Ray took the pencil and put a dot where Gob had pointed, writing The Citadel next to it in small yet neat handwriting.
"Thanks a million, Gob," Ray said with a happy grin before folding up the map and placing in the small side pocket on his backpack.
Jericho drained the rest of the amber liquid in his bottle, slamming it on the counter. "Now, we ready to go or what?" He asked in an impatient tone.
Ray sighed. This was definitely going to be a long trip.