Author's Note: I would like to apologize for the ridiculous amount of time it took for this chapter to be finished. I recently started writing again about a week ago because I was having much stress and hardly any time to write. I would've liked to make up for it with a long chapter but this chapter is quite short and very talky, so sorry for lovers of action out there. The next chapter should have plenty though, so yay!
Wasteland Survival Part 13
The fire gave off small pops and crackles as the speared cuts of Mole Rat perched over the greedily lapping flames. "So, what are we going to do about our supply situation? We don't have enough caps to supply all of us to take on Talon Company, hell we hardly have enough to supply only one of us with functioning weapons and armor," Sarah asked Ray as she picked at her food.
Ray stopped eating and thought for a second. "That's a really good question. I guess we could look for work, scavenging is not going to make us very many caps."
"Now hold up. What kinda work you thinking? I don't do manual labor, more of a hands on kinda guy," Jericho said matter-of-factly, smacking his lips as he chewed.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Sarah asked as she shot him a strange look.
"I'm not going to do some stupid shit like being a delivery boy or helping people. I can do some mercenary work, like guarding or killing," Jericho responded, taking a large bite out of his Mole Rat shish-kebab.
"Guess that would be more, err, in demand. Maybe if we could guard a caravan or something we could get a job guarding it. Do they have any requirements or what?" Ray said.
"They usually don't really care as long as you can shoot a gun and aren't going to rob them. Well from my experiences anyway," Jericho responded with a small shrug.
"Were you a caravan guard? I thought you were a Raider pretty much your whole life?" Ray asked quizzically.
Sarah's eyes widened slightly, looking at Jericho in a suspicious manner.
Jericho didn't notice and instead took a hefty bite out of his Mole Rat. "I was. I tried to get with a caravan after Talon Company killed my first group, but the pay was shit. So I started skimming a little off some of the supplies, you can imagine how that ended and how I got back into the Raider game."
"I should've known you're a Raider. Ray! How can you travel with this guy?! Who the fuck knows what he's done?" Sarah suddenly outburst, reaching for her Laser Rifle.
Ray stammered for a response while Jericho tried to quickly explain.
"I'm not a Raider anymore god damn it! I was fucked up when I was younger, but I'm a changed man. I'm too old for that shit and I couldn't take it anymore," Jericho suddenly shouted, grabbing Sarah's wrist to stop her from grabbing the rifle.
Sarah jerked her hand away as if she had almost touched a poisonous snake. "Still. Any trust I had for you is gone. If any even existed. I know what you people do. You fucking raping, thieving, murderer. I kill Raiders; it's part of my job, and I love doing my job."
"Sarah, you don't understand," Ray pleaded, trying desperately to restore the calm. He had no idea why he was sticking up for Jericho. The man was still atrocious, but he couldn't deny that he had changed greatly.
"I've been out of the Raiding game for, hell, fifteen damn years. No shit it wasn't pretty, but you were so high most of the time you hardly realized how much you were hurting people. I didn't like it at first, but you go numb to it and even start to enjoy it eventually. Then you just steal and kill for money to lose your sobriety and support all the fucking addictions you pick up. I used to think it was fun, when I was higher than a fucking kite. Psycho, Jet, and Med-Ex are a hell of a combo, especially when washed down with some heavy Whiskey. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore. I was sick from all the god damn drugs, addicted to pretty much everything out there. I was about fifty when I left. The drugs were killing me, and the other Raiders had started to hate me and disrespect me, saying I was just a washed up old junkie at that point. I was, I'll admit it," He paused, sighing and looking into the fire before speaking again.
"I left the group I was with and wandered to Megaton. Doc Church helped me through my addictions and Lucas Simms eventually saw that I was the best shot in town other than himself and I took it upon myself to help out when we got attacked by Raiders or whoever wanted to fuck with us. Just my luck that one day my old crew turns up, throwing shit over the walls, harassing caravans, and trying to break in, so I walked out there and killed them all my damn self. I'll admit I'm no Saint, I still get drunk as fuck, enjoy fighting and killing shit a little too much, but I feel like I redeemed myself. Killing the men and women I used to call family was an even bigger wake-up call than walking away from them," Jericho finished strongly, his eyes leaving Sarah's to bore into the fire.
"I- wow..." Ray said, not sure of how to respond. He felt a strange sense of respect for Jericho since he realized what the man had been through.
Sarah silently chewed at her lip, looking guilty before she finally spoke. "I'm sorry. I judged you a little too quickly, but after I heard you were a Raider it just set me off. I'm supposed to kill Raiders, Enclave, Super Mutants, whatever poses a threat, with extreme prejudice. I still don't know what to think of you, but...you're not half bad," Sarah said, casting a glance and an apologetic grin at Jericho.
"It's fine kitty cat, you should've seen how Lucas Simms reacted after I told him about it," Jericho said calmly, a chuckle escaping from him, "That guy shit a brick and a half, then we got into it. After we beat the shit out of each other, he said he'd keep an eye on me and if I fucked up one time he'd kill me without a second thought. We clearly aren't much closer but at least if I get in fights or whatever he tolerates me instead of keeping to that promise," Jericho continued.
"God. Stop calling me kitty cat," Sarah groaned, putting her face in her hands.
"Nah. I think I'll continue," Jericho said with a grin. The three laughed, Sarah surprising them both when she joined in the laughter.
...
The Talon adjusted the binoculars, focusing on the, now laughing, trio. "What are they doing now?"
"They're laughing. Most bi-polar group I've ever seen. I don't know what to make of the two he's got with him. There's a pretty blonde girl, in her twenties, and an older guy, in his fifties or sixties. Old guy seems pretty spry though, grabbed the girl's arm before she grabbed a Laser Rifle. Looked like they were fighting, then the old guy talks for awhile, now they're all laughing. What are we supposed to do with the other two?" The scouter said.
"I bet Eulogy would pay nicely for the girl. The old guy we could just kill. If he's a good fighter and we don't kill him though, we could sell him too. People pay good caps for a decent bodyguard, even better for a young pretty girl to take care of them, if you know what I mean. I see caps all over them. Give me those binoculars," Rilon said enthusiastically as he snatched the binoculars from the young scouter, now eager to see the group.
"I thought the commander said to kill anyone associated with the target, and to not deal with Eulogy anymore?" The scouter asked.
Rilon slowly lowered the binoculars, casting a cold stare over at the relatively new scouter. "Guess what? I don't give a fuck what Jetting Jabsco says," He growled before taking a long look through the binoculars. "She is beautiful. Eulogy would definitely pay top dollar. We can get the old guy to prove his worth as a fighter, then we'll try to sell him." He pushed the binoculars roughly into the chest of the scouter, who scrambled to keep them from falling, before turning to his crew. "I want to take this group by surprise, but whatever we do, don't kill anyone but the target, and no head shots damn it! We need this one intact, I don't want it to end up like last time."
...
A few hours later, Ray and his ragtag group decided to scav up some ammo for the upcoming trip to Canterbury Commons, the small town which was the headquarters for the Caravans. As they trekked away from the hotel, Ray could swear he saw the glint again. "Sarah," Ray said, staring in the direction of the glare, "Look up there and tell me if you see something," He said, pointing at the mountain.
Sarah gave Ray a small glance, then nodded, looking in the general direction of the cliff. As if on cue, the small shimmer was there again. "What could that be?" Ray asked.
"It's probably just some broken glass or something. You guys are fucking paranoid," Jericho scoffed, laughing at the two.
Sarah narrowed her eyes at the cliff. "Paranoia like that keeps you alive. Especially when you're dealing with Talon Company. My guess is that it could be binoculars or a sniper. Knowing Talons though, they're watching us. Watch your back, keep an ear out for gunshots. I've dealt with snipers more times than I can count. Just hit the ground if you hear a gunshot then look for cover," Sarah said, taking out her Laser Rifle and continuing to walk.
"What if they have a silencer?" Jericho asked.
"Hope the bullet doesn't hit you," Sarah deadpanned.
"That's...helpful," Ray said slowly, not enjoying the thought of taking a .308 round to the brainpan.
"Nothing else you can do unless you can hear the shot," Sarah shrugged, "Let's get going before it gets dark. I remember seeing a gun store a few miles South of here before. It's most likely been raided, but it's our best bet."
...
"They're leaving. Should we go after them?" The Scouter asked Rilon.
"No. I want one of you to follow them and watch them. Give me updates over the radio, but don't attack. There's a lot of caps riding on this and I want it to be nice and clean so we can get paid top dollar. If they don't come back, we'll follow them and take them by surprise. Just be patient, the caps are worth it," He grinned back.
"And what do we do when they get back?"
"Don't worry. I've got a plan," He remarked, his grin growing even wider.
Author's Note: I tried to make it show that Jericho is better now than he used to be, although I'm not sure why lol. I guess I'm attempting character development and whatnot. I hope you enjoyed it!