After leaving a brief note stating his departure and his expected return time along with the rest of Nova's payment, he slipped out of the room and silently descended the stairs. The bar and lounge were devoid of inhabitants in the early hours of the morning, allowing him to exit the saloon with none the wiser. Quietly moving through the sleepy town of Megaton, he slipped out the gates, giving a quick nod to Deputy Weld as it blurted out a greeting.
He followed the coordinates Burke had given him using his pip-boy and spotted Tenpenny Tower long before he arrived. Approaching the gate, he witnessed a rather amusing argument between a tough-looking ghoul and an intercom. Once the altercation had finished and with an overt mention of Burke, the gates slid open.
He entered the main building and scanned the luxurious interior, taking note of the furniture, light sources and people. He could almost feel the scrutinizing gaze upon him from the man sitting behind the counter and decided to deal with him first in case a problem arose from his negligence.
Despite the gruff greeting that he received, he soon discovered that the man, Chief Gustavo, was in need of assistance, which Kuril suspected involved the ghoul he encountered at the main gate.
He managed to weasel several key pieces of information, a Chinese assault rifle and several clips of ammunition from the security chief, along with a reward of 700 caps in exchange for neutralizing the threat. Though he had been instructed to meet with Burke at the earliest opportune moment, he decided the man could wait. He brought up his pip-boy, entering the coordinates of the location specified and set out for his destination, mind abuzz with his plan slowly unfolding.
Journeying to the Warrington Trainyard was thankfully uneventful, though once he entered its tunnels, it was a completely different story. The narrow corridors and dim lighting made traversing the station a risky prospect; combined with the hordes of feral ghouls within, few were willing to enter the trainyard's depths.
Alaric examined the remaining ammunition he had left, pleased to see he had only expended two clips in killing the ferals that attacked him as he made his way through the metro. The combat armor he had purchased from Moira was still untouched since his prowess in sneaking was enough to get close enough to the ghouls without them noticing his presence before they were gunned down.
He managed to talk his way past a grumpy pistol-wielding ghoul guarding the entrance and he quickly moved through the hallways until he came upon his target.
"Roy Phillips?"
The Ghoul turned around, tensing as he spotted the Chinese assault rifle. "Yeah? What do you want?"
"Gustavo sent me to kill you." He stated bluntly.
He could sense the female Ghoul behind him and heard the click of a switchblade being unsheathed. "Is that so?" Phillips narrowed his eyes. "He isn't man enough to do it himself? Sends a boy to do his dirty work. You think you got what it takes?"
He slung the gun across his back and held his hands up. "Relax. It's just a warning, not a threat. I'm not here to kill you."
"I see… that's smart of you. I'd lay you flat if you tried anything stupid. So don't." He grunted. "Tenpenny and his pack of elitist wannabes are in for a real treat soon enough. They can't keep us out of that tower forever."
Alaric pretended to nod slowly, as if he were considering something, then replied, "You know… I might be able to get you in there."
"I already got a plan." He growled, "They think I'm a monster. Pah! I'll show them the real monsters!"
"And who would they be?"
"We'll unleash our feral brethren on them; all those bigoted sons-of-bitches will get torn apart." The ghoul snarled. "Trouble is getting past the damn subway access door."
Kuril had to fight back a smirk as he mentioned the very same door Gustavo did and patiently waited for the Ghoul to finish his rant.
"You see, there's some kind of escape door that leads from the Tenpenny basement to the subway tunnels. There must be some way to get that open."
Alaric nodded. "I think I can help you with that escape door."
"Now you're talking my language." Phillips grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "Alright, here's the plan: I'll gather up a horde of ferals and wait for you by that escape door. You find a way to get it open and then we'll sit back and enjoy the show!"
He smiled, though not for the same reason the Ghoul did. "This is going to be fun!"
"Indeed. Remember, I'll be waiting for you to get that door open. Don't keep me waiting long, kid."
"I'll go tell them the job's done, they won't see it coming." He paused. "Hmm… they might want proof, have anything that might convince them?"
Roy rummaged around in a metal cabinet and held up a mask sewn together with what looked like feral ghoul skin. "Here, this ought to be enough." He handed it to Kuril, who promptly tossed it into his backpack.
"Now hurry up. Those bigots got big comeuppance waiting for them. I mean to give it to them soon."
...
"The ghouls trying to get in are all dead."
The security chief raised an eyebrow. "Really? You look pretty unscathed for someone who just fought a bunch of them."
"What can I say?" Alaric shrugged, putting on a cocky smirk. "I'm just that good."
Gustavo looked flatly at him. "Really?" He repeated, unimpressed. "Your proof?"
The vault dweller pulled out the ghoul flesh mask Phillips had given him. "This enough?"
Gustavo eyed the repulsive false visage with distaste and grunted in approval. "Hmph. Nice trophy. Didn't think you had it in you. Guess you proved me wrong. Good job. Knowing those Ghouls are gone takes a load off my mind. Thanks." He weighed the bag of caps he withdrew from his pocket. "You'll be wanting the reward now, won't you? I suppose you've earned it." He tossed it to Alaric who caught it with a single hand and transferred it to his pack. "There's your caps. You can keep the gun. Contract fulfilled, debt paid. This don't me were buddies alright? Now get going."
Kuril nodded his assent and quickly left the tower before circling around to enter the sub-level and pulled the now modified version of the fusion pulse charge Burke had so graciously given him from his knapsack. Attaching it to the generator and tuning the radio on the device to the same frequency his pip-boy was emitting, it would ensure the device wouldn't detonate on a signal from anyone but him. Once he was satisfied the charge could be remotely triggered at a safe distance, he made his way over to the grille where he saw a waiting pack of ferals.
Phillips ran up to the opposite side. "Hey kid, what's the hold up?"
"Nothing. It's good to go." He replied, gesturing to his pip-boy. "Once the generator goes down, the door is gonna open, so get ready."
Roy grunted an affirmative and took his position behind the ferals, flicking the safety off on his assault rifle.
Alaric gave a quiet chuckle as he left the basement and walked out the front gates, breaking into a sprint once he was out of sight. After he was a good distance away from the tower, he switched off the radio transmitter of his pip-boy, which in turn set off the fusion pulse charge.
He calculated it would take two for the chaos to settle down, giving him plenty of time to handle Lucy's delivery and retake the tower while Phillips was still weakened.
...
He shifted in his set of combat armor as he walked up the half-collapsed highway to Arefu. His amber eyes swept across the environment, ever vigilant for any signs of hostiles.
Just as he approached the concrete barrier leading into the town, a clink sounded and he heard the subtle rush of wind as a projectile flew through the air. Acting on pure reflex, he brought his assault rifle to bear and with a precision burst, he shot the grenade as it arced towards him. He turned away from the detonation in a smooth, almost practiced manner, shielding his face and eyes from the harsh flare of light. A moment later, the gun barrel was trained on the man who had thrown the explosive at him.
The man blinked in shock and raised his hands. "Hang on, you're not one of them! I nearly blasted you in two!"
The rifle remained pointed at him.
"Get over here before they spot you." The man urged, waving.
Alaric cautiously neared him, lowering the gun but keeping his finger on the trigger in case he needed to bring it to bear at a moment's notice.
The man eyed him suspiciously. "Now, what the hell are you doin' all the way out here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." He replied. "You throw grenades at all your guests?"
His assailant had enough sense to look sheepish at the reminder. "Sorry about that. I thought you were one of the Family. They're some lowlife gangers who've been giving us a hell of a lot of trouble lately. They're the reason for my itchy trigger finger." He stuck out a hand and they shook. "I'm Evan King, and this is Arefu, our little piece of the Capital Wasteland."
"Alaric Kuril. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." King's eyes flickered back and forth between him and the road. "So what're you here for? We don't get many visitors except for traders, and you don't look like any of the regulars that usually come around."
"Well." He pulled the letter Lucy had given him from his backpack. "I have this letter for the West Family."
"The Wests? There in the house at the very back. Oh, if it's not too much trouble, would you mind checking on the other houses as well? I've been too busy keeping an eye on the road to see how they're holding up."
Alaric nodded. "Will do."
"Thanks. Speak with Davis West, Karen Schenzy, and Ken Ewers."
With that, he left King to guard the roadway and went approached the first abode.
Ken turned out to be an asshole, though Kuril could hardly blame him considering the utterly inane nature of his wife. It'd take the patience of a saint to deal with that. Karen was relatively normal, if a bit feisty. Hot too, if one could look past her less than stellar clothing. That left only the Wests.
He knocked on the door of their house and knocked once more when he received no reply. He was about to rap his knuckles against the metal again when the iron tang of blood touched his nose. He tested the door knob and found it was unlocked. With a pistol in one hand and knife in the other, he quietly pushed open the door and stalked forward.
His eyes adjusted quickly to the dim lighting and he swept them across the derelict interior, finding nothing before coming to a rest on the two corpses on the floor. He readied his pip-boy for voice to text recording as he examined the bodies of the Wests.
He knelt down, as close as he could without disturbing the corpses, and scanned the cadavers for any external injuries. Almost immediately his eyes fell upon the bite marks prominent upon the neck.
"Medical Analysis of West Corpses." He began. "The bodies of the Wests have bite marks on the neck area that go to the bone."
His amber eyes flickered over to the surprisingly clean bedsheets. "The lack of bloodstains on the sheets is strange, as any bite or wound of that depth should have caused massive bleeding."
"Hmm…" His gaze switched back to the wounds, noting the pattern with which they were made. "The bite marks on the neck appear to be from a human or humans with sharpened incisors or canines."
He used the combat knife to delicately scrape a thin film of residue from the skin of one of the corpses. Holding it towards the light, he closely inspected the powder-like substance. "The bodies seem to have a blackish powdery residue present not unlike that found in train yards."
Finally, he took note of 'THE FAMILY' painted on one of the walls in blood and left the West residence to report his findings to King.
"What did they tell you? Everyone ok?"
After divulging his discoveries and enduring an expletive-filled rant about the Family, Alaric was quick to distract him with a question.
"Hey, this may sound odd, but is there a trainyard outside of Arefu?"
King blinked, then nodded. "Well, yeah actually. Meresti Trainyard almost due east of here."
He smiled. "Good. Don't worry, Evan. I'll figure out what happened to the Wests."
"Thanks kid." The man's anxious expression eased up a bit. "You're all right."
...
Alaric raised his hands in peace as he approached the sandbag wall and the armed man behind it.
"Whoa, whoa. Slow down there." He heard the click of a safety trigger being flicked off. "This area's off limits to everyone but the Family. Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"To deliver a letter for Ian West from his sister."
The man grunted, fingering his submachine gun. "Really? Show me."
He slowly withdrew the letter and unfolded it to allow its contents to be read.
"Hrm." The guard grunted, apparently satisfied that the letter was genuine. "Yeah, Vance said we should be expecting someone soon." He motioned for Kuril to pass. "You can head on in, but I would speak to Vance first if I was you. You can find him on the mezzanine overlooking the common area."
"Will do." The vault dweller tilted his head in gratitude and moved swiftly to find his charge.
Vance was… an interesting character. Enigmatic and charming. He had a sort of aura about him that made a person want to listen to that soothing voice and agree with whatever it had to say. However, he seemed to understand the power he had been given and merely used it to draw together a sequestered cabal of kindred souls, protecting the world from them and vice versa.
But Kuril knew he could talk his way past even a man like Vance. All it would take were words that were carefully chosen and smoothly delivered.
After listening to the man's explanation of the Family and the principles that they followed, Alaric nodded respectfully. "I see. Now that I have a better understanding of the Family, may I speak to Ian?"
Vance gave a small smile. "I had always assumed if a human happened upon our home, it would be for the purpose of our extermination. But it appears my fears were ill-placed. It is a pleasant surprise to meet someone as amenable as yourself." He handed the vault dweller a holotape. "Very well. I will allow you to speak to Ian. Perhaps you can help him come to grips with his greatest enemy. Himself."
...
"Ian West?"
The teen looked up in alarm, then suspicion. "Huh? What do you want?"
"I've been looking for you."
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Ian sighed. "I'm sure Evan King is pretty pissed right about now. I bet he has the entire town out looking for me. He's worse than my parents."
Alaric only gave a quiet chuckled at that, recalling how the man had thrown a grenade at him in greeting. "He probably is." He made his way over the other side of the table and stood across from the boy, resting his hands on the flat metal surface. "Look, I know it's painful, but let's talk about what happened in Arefu."
Ian nodded forlornly. "It actually kinda makes me feel better to talk about it. Go ahead."
They settled into a routine where he asked and West answered, beginning with the boy's motivation for killing his own parents and ending with his belief in vampires.
"I see." The vault dweller leaned back. "Maybe I can help you."
The boy looked at him incredulously. "Help? How can you help? There's something inside me... something completely messed up!" He gestured furiously to himself. "I'm a mutant, a fucking freak! The only person I was ever able to talk to was my sister Lucy, and she's gone." Ian deflated, sinking into his chair. "No one gives a shit about me except Vance and the Family." He muttered. "Can't you understand that?"
Having weathered the tirade with nothing but a raised eyebrow, Alaric calmly withdrew the letter from his backpack and handed it to the boy. "Read that."
He watched with satisfaction as Ian's eyes grew wider and wider with each line he read until finally the teen looked up at him with disbelief.
"And before you ask," He stalled the boy's impending question with a finger. "Yes, it's real. I was asked to deliver it by Lucy herself."
Ian gave a shaky laugh and ran a hand down his face. "She... she really misses being home and she's asked about me in here a lot! I think I had it all wrong. I shouldn't have come here. I bet Lucy is feeling just as bad as me." He stood up. "Please, tell Vance I've made my decision. I'm going home to Arefu. I hope to see you there as well. I'm just gonna gather my stuff together and say my goodbyes then I'll head on back." He held his hand out nervously. "Thanks Mr…?"
The vault dweller smiled and shook the boy's hand. "Alaric Kuril. But you may call me Alaric." When Ian turned to retrieve his belongings, Kuril spoke again, "And don't say farewell to the Family just yet, I have an idea."
...
Vance tilted his head in greeting. "How went your talk with Ian?"
"Well. But before that, how would you like to relocate the Family?"
He raised an eyebrow. "To where?"
Alaric grinned. "Ever heard of Tenpenny Tower?"
