Rose pocketed one of the cigars in case Dogmeat needed a refresher, and after filling up on ammo from Arturo, she made her way out of the city. Dogmeat started to nose around for the cigar scent, but Rose tugged him in the opposite direction.
"Hold up, boy. Got one stop to make first."
Hancock would be waiting for her in Goodneighbor. Being a ghoul, he wasn't allowed to set foot in Diamond City. And seeing as he was also the estranged younger brother of the mayor, it wasn't too much of a stretch to assume that he'd be arrested or shot on sight. McDonough never mentioned the relation, and Hancock had only opened up about his older brother once or twice. But it had been enough for Rose to see that no love had been lost between either of them.
She headed for the Third Rail, an old subway-station-turned-jazz bar, upon entering the city. Twilight had fallen, and most of the friends she had made in the city would be there unwinding after another long day of surviving. She wasn't sure when she would next get a chance to return to the charmingly dangerous shantytown, and wanted to say goodbye.
Ham, the bouncer, made a gruff noise in his throat when she walked in with Dogmeat. Rose gave him a wry look, eyebrow arched.
"Don't tell me you guys have a no-dog policy," she said jokingly. "He's a service dog. I swear."
Ham frowned in confusion. "Service dog?"
"Yeah. He provides the service of keeping me company. And, you know, killing anything that makes a move on me. The usual."
Dogmeat barked, his expression deceptively adorable. Ham sighed.
"Just do me a favor and keep him from biting any of the guests. I know you and Hancock are pals, so don't make me throw you and the mutt out. I don't need the hassle from the boss."
"Cross my heart and hope to die," Rose replied. "Besides, when have I ever been any trouble?" At that, she got a rare chuckle.
Rose didn't spot anyone she knew once she was down the stairs, but that was fine. She settled herself at the bar and accepted a glass of beer from Whitechapel Charlie. Even though her maternal instinct was screaming at her to tear off after Kellogg, she appreciated the opportunity to sit for a few minutes and rest. She could feel the fatigue from the long day settling into her bones. She hadn't slept in 12 hours or so, and wouldn't be able to for a while yet.
"Nice dog you got there."
She tensed and turned to see a man dressed in a long duster leaning against the bar next to her. She immediately marked the sniper rifle that was slung over his shoulder, but didn't spot any other obvious weaponry. Didn't mean it wasn't there, though.
"Thanks. I keep him fit with a diet of assholes and creeps," she responded sarcastically.
Her unwelcome visitor wasn't fazed. "I'm sure he makes the local riffraff quake in their boots. If you're gonna be traveling out in the Commonwealth, though, you might want a little more backup on your side. You know, maybe something that can fire a gun."
Rose rolled her eyes. "And let me guess… you just so happen to be available?"
He grinned. "For a price. Name's MacCready. For 250 caps I'll get you where you need to go, all limbs and extremities safely intact."
"My extremities are none of your concern," she said icily. Dogmeat, picking up on her mood, pinned his ears back and began to growl in low tones.
MacCready raised his eyebrows, looking her up and down. "Well they oughta be somebody's concern. Be a shame to have supermutants tear apart a pretty girl like you." He took a swig from his own glass. "Speaking of, what's a girl like you doing here anyway? Vault-dwellers haven't historically lasted long in this town."
It didn't surprise her that he knew she was from a vault. Though she had shed her vault suit a while back, the pip-boy she kept on her arm was a dead giveaway.
"Oh, I'm playing a game," she replied with a sarcastic smirk. "The first guy to grab my ass gets his arm broken. Bonus points if he's drunk."
"Yikes." MacCready winced, and his gaze shifted to a few feet behind her. "Hey, Hancock. How's the coolest ghoul in the Commonwealth?"
Thank God. Rose turned and was relieved to see her friend approaching them from the stairs. It wasn't surprising that he knew where to find her; Hancock knew about everything that happened in Goodneighbor, and had probably known she was back from the moment she set foot inside the walls.
"You're wasting your time, MacCready; she's with me," Hancock replied to the mercenary.
MacCready held up his hands. "Hey, you can take her. I think I'd be afraid that she'd slit my throat in my sleep."
Rose smiled sweetly. "It's always a possibility."
Hancock chuckled, watching MacCready walk away before turning to her. "Hey, doll. You find anything in Kellogg's digs?"
She nodded. "I hope so. I'm ready to hit the road if you are." She stood and clucked her tongue at Dogmeat. "Come on, boy. We got work to do."
As they exited the bar, Hancock asked, "That's Dogmeat? How'd he wind up all the way out here?"
"Nick did me a favor," Rose explained. "We found some personal effects that Kellogg left behind. Hopefully, Dogmeat can track the scent."
Hancock slowed and pulled her to a stop. "You sure you're ready for this, Red? From what I hear, Kellogg ain't like the raiders and gunners and other shit you've gone up against. This guy is on another level."
Rose looked at him wryly. "We're having this conversation again?"
"Play tough all you like, Sunshine, but you need to be in the right mindset before you tear off of this crusade. I kinda like having you around; would hate to end up bringing you home in bits and pieces."
She wrinkled her nose at the image. "Lovely."
"I'm serious, Red."
"I know you are." She sighed. "We've been through this, Hancock. I don't have the time to sit around and play the victim, not when the Institute is out there doing God-knows-what to my son. Maybe when this is all over, I'll have the time to psychoanalyze myself and face all of the new demons that have jumped on my back since I walked out of that vault. But right now, I need to keep moving forward."
He didn't seem convinced, so she smiled and lightly shoved her shoulder into his. "Hey, I'll have you and Dogmeat with me, right? Kellogg doesn't stand a chance."
Hancock shook his head. "You're ten different kinds of crazy, Sunshine."
"So everyone tells me." She pulled a tin of Mentats out of her pack and popped a couple in her mouth before offering it to Hancock, who gave her a quizzical look.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing, just not used to seeing you use chems recreationally. Not that I object," he added with an impish expression.
"In the absence of caffeine, Mentats will have to do." Rose sighed. "God, I miss coffee."
"Coffee?"
"Yeah, like…" She paused. "Oh. That's right, you wouldn't know what that is really, would you?" She ran a hand through her auburn hair. "Wow, that's weird. I think you just made me feel old."
Hancock chuckled. "Don't worry; pretty sure that cryo years don't count."
"They'd better not." She made her way to the city entrance, swinging the new shotgun she had gotten from KLEO around to her front as she did so. "Let's get moving; we can get a couple of hours of travel in before it gets too dark to see."