Chapter Two: Detective Valentine

General 'Storm' Germaine had found Diamond City, and he wasn't impressed. Dressed as an average (if slightly more armed) settler in order to travel incognito, he had noticed a stark tension in the air. "People going missing, huh. Surely someone here cares about finding them?

Piper had scoffed, "Not Diamond City security, that's for sure. There is the detective, Nick Valentine, but he's been off on some sort of case for a few days, at least!"

"Where is he located at, I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

Piper directed him to the agency, "Big neon sign, can't miss it."

The heart with an arrow through it was a nice touch…

Ellie was flustered and upset when he asked after the detective, "He's been missing for two weeks, he went off to Vault 114, and I haven't heard from him since. I'm worried. Skinny Malone might've…"

Malcolm raised a reassuring hand, "Shhh, I understand, I'm here to help."

"You...are?" Ellie seemed floored, "I- didn't know who could possibly help Nick, who do you send to find the missing detective, sounds like the beginning of a bad riddle right?"

Malcolm shrugged, "I suppose it does, at that. Just tell me where vault 114 is, and how I'll know Mr. Valentine when I see him."

"Can't miss him, with that fedora and trench coat of his…" Ellie handed Malcolm a pack of smokes and a note she hurridly scribbled, "Here, so he'll know I sent you."

-chapter break-

'This vault makes no sense, built out of a formerly public metro station...I suppose it'd be centrally located, but still.'

Malcolm stealthily incapacitated another gangster with a tranquilizer dart. 'No need to kill anybody, they'd only think they were defending themselves shooting at an intruder.' he thought to himself.

Didn't stop him from looting their unconscious bodies, but that was neither here nor there.

He observed the guy seemingly taunting someone on the other side of a large window, he called the voice Valentine… bingo.

"Nighty night." Mal whispered as the struck gangster slumped to the ground.

He ran over to the terminal, passing by a shaded figure behind the window.

"Hey you," the voice said, "If you're here to rescue me you got about three minutes to hack that terminal-" he stopped suddenly as Malcolm had already managed to open the door just as he'd said that.

"My knight in shining armor."

The shadowed figure had glowing yellow eyes, and gashes in his face that revealed an undernetwork of circuitry, his right hand was entirely devoid of his artificial skin and it twitched nervously for a gun he didn't have … a synth, somewhere between the entirely mechanical gen 2's and the entirely realistic gen 3's. He was dressed exactly like Ellie had described.

"Question is…" the man continued warily, "Why does he risk life and limb to rescue little 'ol me?"

Malcolm handed him the packet of cigarettes, "Good gracious, Ellie. I should give that girl a raise." He considered Malcolm, "You, uh got a lighter by chance?"

Malcolm fished out his silver lighter, "It's pristine, pre-war. I don't smoke but it sure comes in handy."

Nick lit a cigarette as he considered the unconscious guards, "Gee, did Ellie pay ya extra to rescue me without killin' anyone? Because if not, bravo."

"I'm not being paid. I just figured that someone in Diamond City ought to care about the missing people, and a resident detective seemed just the ticket. Of course, it turned out the detective in question was also missing."

"You… you're not doing this for money?"

"Nope. Don't get me wrong, I'm looting the heck out of Skinny Malone's guys and this vault, but I would argue that he was asking for it. Didn't even ask Ellie for any caps-"

"I'd call BS, but something tells me you're being genuine…"

They got to a security door, "I hear big fat footsteps on the other side, Must be Skinny...it's an ironic name. Prepare yourself for anything."

"Roger that."

-chapter break-

They were leisurely walking together back towards Diamond City, and ultimately to Nick's office. Which Nick jokingly agreed to with an amused, "Walking me home 'eh? Well sure, It'll give me more time to figure you out."

"Feel free to ask me anything, I'm a bit of an open book."

"So...I noticed the Pip Boy."

"Vault 111, we were cryogenically frozen, but something happened to the life support so I'm the only one left. Only woke up like...a month ago...I think. I'd have to ask to make sure, I haven't been keeping track... I'm pre-war."

"No fooling? That would explain a lot about you to be honest. Still got those 'help thy fellow man' pre-war values."

"Was a solder, helping people's always been sort of second nature to me, y'know?"

"I'd wondered, you got that whole solder vibe. I myself am the result of an Institute experiment, far as I can figure. First memory of mine is waking up in a dumpster, so I can only guess that they threw me away."

"That's harsh… how'd you get into the whole 'detective' bit, especially the hat and trench coat?"

"The Institute loaded up the hardware between my ears with some brain scan of a pre-war cop, Nick Valentine, so I have his memories, they come to me in flashes. Some of them are faded to all heck, but I've got a pretty good impression of detectives of the time dressing like this."

"You're right they did, it was like… the look."

"Heh, figured if I put on the hat and trench coat people would know I was serious."

"It is a very iconic look, honestly glad the detective aesthetic survived 200 years."

"...So were you...uh. Close to anyone in vault 111?"

"I mean, they were my neighbors, mostly. Not enough time for anyone further than Sanctuary Hills to get to there after the bombs dropped, but... as much of a people person as I might seem now, I was very...introverted before the war… if you can believe that. Something must have shaken loose when I woke up; the 'you've got to actually talk to people' switch."

"I honestly still can't believe you convinced Marreen to go home, and have Skinny let us go."

"You helped me with that whole, 'for old time sake' thing, but yeah, what can I say, I've become quite the charmer."

During their chat they had finally made it to the hallway leading to Nick's detective agency.

"That you have doll—erm."

"Doll?"

Nick Valentine seemed flustered at his slip, "Not that you're feminine at all or- Nick Valentine's speech patterns sometimes- you're…"

Malcolm was positively beaming from ear to ear, showing off his pristine white teeth, "No, no. I - I actually like it? Nobody's ever called me doll before… I suppose it's weird if I say you can totally call me that, and I won't mind?"

Nick shook his head, "Doll, you are, without a doubt, the most refreshing change of pace I think I've met in the Commonwealth in a long time."

Nick reached the door and opened it, and Ellie practically sobbed in releaf. "Nick!"

"Hey Ellie." Nick said grinning as Ellie threw her arms around him, "Quite the rescue you arranged for me."

"I thought you were dead." She turned toward Malcolm "Oh thank you so much! I...I don't even know your name!"

Valentine turned sharply in surprise, "Come to think of it, neither do I!" he chucked ruefully to himself, "Must be slipping, if I never even asked your name."

"I'm terrible at introducing myself. Maelstrom Germaine, of the Minutemen, at your service."

Ellie's jaw dropped, "Germaine… as...as in General Germaine. You're the new General of the Minutemen?"

Nick seemed shocked, "Barely a month out of the vault and you're the new General of the Minutemen?"

"It's a long story; short version is I rescued the last remaining Minuteman, Preston Garvey and a handful of settlers straight after defrosting and Preston basically strong armed me into trying to reform the Minutemen."

Ellie interjected, "And you're doing a heck of a job at it!"

Malcolm shrugged, "Saved a few settlements… and we've got about 90-100 men at arms now, which is apparently more than the local chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel… heard there was some trouble at Diamond City with some disappearances… came here incognito to ferret out the problem and find a solution… You guys know the rest."

Nick lit a cigarette, "Well if that doesn't solidify my first impressions of you…" Nick considered the lighter he'd been handed earlier, it was engraved, 'Maelstrom Germaine III'. "This was your lighter, from before the war?"

"My dad's. I don't smoke, but I kept it as a sort of good luck charm. Maelstrom is a family name, so if you wanted to get technical, my name is Maelstrom Gemaine IV, but honestly that sounds so pretentious. My friends mostly call me Malcolm or Mal."

Ellie seemed in awe, "And the Minutemen call you General 'Storm' Gemaine." she shyly buffed her right shoe against the ground, "I honestly had no idea, when you asked how you could help...I…"

Malcolm shook his head, "Well I didn't exactly introduce myself, anyway, you got an answer for that riddle of yours."

Ellie laughed, "I...suppose I did, at that!"

Nick raised a near invisible brow, "What riddle?"

Ellie sat on the edge of her desk, "Who do you send to find a missing detective?"

Nick chuckled, "Apparently; 'a total stranger who actually turns out to be the General of the Minutemen' quite the answer."

Maelstrom blushed, "I was traveling incognito...say, Nick?"

Nick considered the lighter, "I suppose you'll be wanting this back?"

Mal laughed, "It does come in handy, but what I was going to ask is -next time you go on a perilous case, take some backup with you."

Nick ruefully smiled, "Good help is hard to find these days, unless of course you're volunteering yourself, doll?"

Ellie giggled, "Did...did you just call him...Doll?"

"Sure did Ellie, it's an inside joke."

"Barely known him for an hour, and you already have inside jokes!" Ellie clapped her hands in glee, "It's like a match made in detective heaven!"

Malcolm favored them both with a bright smile, "I've always wanted to be a detective."

Nick clapped his left hand on Malcolm's shoulder, "Alrighty, we'll set up the detective agency's radio up on your Pip Boy so that we can get into contact with you. We'll set up a cut of the profit for the cases you join in on, and it's only fair that you get at least half the fee I got paid to find Marleen too." Nick handed over a bag of bottle caps, "and that I give you back the heirloom lighter you lent me."

Malcolm chuckled, "It's more of a good luck charm than it is a lighter," he said as he takes it, "Tempted to leave it with you actually, from what I've seen, you fall into some seriously sticky situations."

Nick shrugged, "Nah, don't need luck when I got you partner."

Ellie squealed, "This is great, maybe now I won't have to worry about you so much Nick, finally got somebody watching your back!"

Malcolm suddenly started rooting through his pack, "Oh that reminds me!" he fished out an impressively mended black trench coat, "I'd scavenged this like a week ago, fitted it with ballistic weave and everything but it's a little small on me, was hoping to get it to someone who appreciated the aesthetic."

Nick looked floored, "You're serious, wow you are honestly something else aren't ya?" Nick tried on the coat and it fit perfectly, "I… can't accept this… Not without repaying you!"

Malcolm gave a faux stern scoul "Got to make sure my detective partner is properly outfitted don't I? If you really want to give me something, there is a bit of info you could help me with?"

Nick looked up determinedly, "Name it."

Mal seemed taken aback, and he laughed, "It's… finding pre-war ghouls and pointing them out to me, or leading me their direction… I am sort of hoping to finding more people from...my… our time?

"Ah, want to reminisce about the olden days?"

Malcolm sighed deeply, "Yeah to be honest, just somebody who'll get all my nerdy comic book references. Like, I don't know… the Silver Shroud, was always my favorite."

Nick's yellow eyes shined brightly, "Doll, have I ever got the perfect ghoul for the job!"