Chapter Three.

Moira didn't hear any deathclaws or raiders outside, and fell asleep for a time at the kitchen table. When she woke, she ate a few Mentats and peered out the boarded up window. Judging by the long shadows, she thought it was afternoon.

She went upstairs to where Silver had passed out on a filthy mattress. She nudged the woman's foot with her own and jumped back when Silver bolted up, yelling and wielding a gun.

"Who the hell are you!?" Silver shouted.

"M-Moira Brown. We met a few hours ago. I hired you as my assistant."

Silver's blue eyes narrowed, beaming suspicion and malice at Moira. Her gaze suddenly softened. "Oh yeah," she said. "Damn, what have I gotten myself into…"

"What do you mean?" Moira asked.

"You and your assistants," Silver said. "Word around Megaton is that you've gone through enough assistants to depopulate half the Wasteland."

"Oh," Moira said. "Well…it's to save lives. Once the guide is written and distributed, people will have some idea of what the dangers are out here."

"Yeah, sure," Silver said, putting her gun away and scratching her head. "I guess I can help you, just as long as I don't have to do anything dangerous and you don't tell Moriarty about where I'm at."

Frowning, Moira followed Silver downstairs and outside. She mentioned the deathclaws and raiders again, but Silver waved her off, saying something about being done a favor if she were to be eaten.

They made it back to Megaton shortly after it grew dark. Moira was happy to see her shop hadn't been commandeered, but wasn't surprised to see that the mercenary she hired to guard the place had wandered off. He didn't leave the difference in pay for his unfilled contract either, Moira noticed, as she got four hundred caps out of her safe to cover Silver's debt.

Moira followed Silver to Moriarty's, where she threw the four hundred caps at him and left before he could say anything.

"I'll warn you," Silver said, leading Moira back to Craterside Supply. "He's not going to take that money and leave me alone. If you've got any secrets, I'd hide them now."

Moira took a fresh box of Mentats from beneath the front counter once they were inside and ate two of the pills. She thought hard for anything she might have in her past that Moriarty might want to use against her, but could come up with nothing. She briefly thought it might be interesting to see what Moriarty find, but decided it wouldn't be worth it.

"Where am I sleeping?" Silver asked.

"Upstairs," Moira said, pointing to the catwalks above them. She ate another Mentat.

Silver went upstairs and Moira heard her open the door to her bedroom and not flop down on the guest bed she kept available. Moira had time to sigh, and scratch her head when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she said.

The door opened and the welcome sight of Lucas Simms stepped in out of the growing darkness outside. "Moira," he said, tipping his cowboy hat slightly.

"High, Sheriff," she said, glad to see someone who wasn't a deathclaw, raider, or Colin Moriarty. "Can I help you?"

Simms looked around the ground floor of the shop and then looked above to the catwalks. "Did I see you come in here with that girl, Silver?"

"Yes," Moira said after a pause. "Is…is she wanted?"

Simms snorted. "I suppose. Not by me. I heard you two went into Moriarty's and told him off."

"Well…Silver owed him money and I needed an assistant, so…"

"It ain't none of my business," Simms said. "But I just want you to know that you might not be wanting to get into that sort of trouble. I don't know what you get into while you're out in the wasteland, but one thing about it, it don't follow you home. Moriarty on the other hand, he's across the street and he's not the kind of trouble you want."

Moira ate another Mentat and thought she really should try to cut back on them. They made her feel better, though, and she had been having a rough couple of days. "I know," Moira said. "Has he ever…done anything to anyone?"

Simms shrugged. "Him personally? Probably. I'd keep my door locked, in case you don't already. Sleep far away from where that Silver sleeps. Maybe he'll just take his money and leave."

Moira's fingers fiddled with the box of Mentats, but she didn't eat one. "I lock my door all the time," she said. "I guess my security measures might get tested. I've always wanted to know how well they work."

"Yeah," Simms said, looking at her with a sideways glance as he turned to leave. "Take care and let me know if there's trouble."

"Good night," Moira said.

"Yeah," Simms said, shutting the door behind him as he left.

Simms had a point; she was safe behind the walls of Megaton. Even with an unexploded nuclear weapon sitting in the middle of the town, the only things she had to worry about were shifty people coming through her shop and radiation poisoning. The deathclaws, raiders, and other mutants stayed away from the town and didn't follow her inside.

Having an enemy within the town wasn't an idea she liked, but she didn't think she could bring herself to throw Silver out. Not until she got four hundred caps worth of assistance from her, at least.

To be continued…