Simms barked out a short laugh. The dog was wearing clothes, what looked like a miniature version of the leather armour the girl had on. Cort finally pushed through the inner doors sometime after noon, banging her helmet against her leg and talking to the mutt at her side. Whatever she had been up to out there, it had sent her back leaner and meaner. The sack she had was loaded, and had to have at least 6 assault rifles tied down to it. Walking relaxed, loose and leggy, every few seconds Simms saw her eyes dart around. Looking without looking. She's catching on. Wonder what else she's learned. Obviously how to shoot straight. Putting aside his wool-gathering, he stepped out in front of her.

"Miss Cort. I just needed to have a few words with you over some things I didn't have a chance to discuss before you lit out last month."

Cort stiffened and stared at him, readjusting her pack. "Well I was in a rush to make up for lost time after some misdirection slowed me down. What's up?" Simms chose to ignore the barb and carried on.

"Just some simple responsibilities that come along with living here. Pitching in if there's a large project going on like renovating or repairing the walls, buildings. Fighting off any serious outside threats if they appear, we've got an informal militia made up of a few residents for when things get hairy."

"So protect the town. Peachy. I can only do that on the occasions I'm around, and I will, but living here doesn't mean I'm going to be here. I'll be heading out again tomorrow morning after I finish my business with Moriarty."

Simms frowned opened his mouth. "You-"

"Need to be careful, yeah, yeah. I'm being as circumspect as I can be while being extorted. Lovely law enforcement you have in this town. Thanks for the chat, just yell if you need me." Cort turned and started jogging for her house before he could get another word out, the dog trailing behind. Watching her dart through the door and slam it, Simms sighed heavily. He could have hauled her back, but didn't feel like wasting his time watching another damn hissy fit.

"Town full of migraines. That's what I've got. And I just had to add a pain in the ass to it."


"Ugh, asshole!" Cort walked across the main room and slung her pack down against the lockers. She was pretty sure she was being churlish, but didn't care. She had too much already on her plate to quibble over her manners. I can be nicer later. After I find Dad.

"I beg your pardon, Madam? I am not nor do I have that particular orifice." Wadsworth putted down the stairs, sounding affronted.

"Not you, Wadsworth. I just had an unwanted and unpleasant conversation. I'm happy to see you!" Cort shook off her funk and grinned.

"Oh. Very well Madam. How may I assist you this afternoon?" He asked, sounding regularly cheerful again.

"The very same thing as last time I was in, purified water and my hair done over. It feels terrible." Cort rocked onto the balls of her feet and clapped happily. She'd been looking forward to this little bit of pampering for weeks. "I'll need two bottles of water though, one for me and Dogmeat. I have a dog now, see?"

Wadsworth produced the water while directing an eye stalk downwards to peer at the animal. "Just so, Madam. Good doggie, sit!" Dogmeat whuffed and sat up. "Very charming, Madam."

"Isn't he? Now if you could just arrange the things I brought back with me into the storage areas, I'll get the rest of myself cleaned up beforehand. I still have things I need to deal with today." Cort went to dig up a bowl for Dogmeat out of the kitchenette, then settled down to strip the leather and layers of grime from both of them.

Fresher, cleaner, and four hours later, Cort popped back out into the world, leaving Wadsworth muttering something about 'twice the hairballs'. After tidying up, she had changed into a pair of leather pants and a tank top she had gotten while out with Crow and only put the bandanna back on the dog.

"This is so much better, Dogmeat. Great as not getting easily mauled is, it's nice to feel like I'm not chafing to death." She grinned at the responding whuff and juggled a small bag of caps back and forth as she walked. "Now, we can get this nastiness over with, sleep in a bed tonight, and bounce out like bunnies tomorrow morning after the carrot formerly known as 'Dad'. Sound like a plan?"

"Whuff!"


Cort walked the long way around the crater. She could see Moriarty brooding over the railing again, and didn't want to come up from beneath him. Ugh. Never think that again, girl. Ever. Colin's eyes latched onto her the second she came around the corner of the bar. Well, latched onto part of her anyway. Cort crossed her arms over her chest and planted her feet.

"I'm up here."

"And so you are, lass. I was just admiring how well you'd gone...native." He turned around and leaned against the railing, smirking. Cort resisted the urge to pitch the bag at his face and plunked down the bag of caps, looking at him.

"Silver's dead. One hundred caps. Location please."

"My, aren't we brusque. Eager to get on with following in his footsteps are you?" Moriarty plucked the bag off the railing and started counting through it. "Fine, then, since it appears you've been a good girl for old Colin. Your father headed off to GNR in the city after picking up supplies he paid me to keep here. Said he had something important to do. What? Knowing your dear old dad, probably something idiotic and selfless for the good of all. Why? I don't care. Anything else you want to bother me with?"

Cort gave him a sarcastic grin. "No thanks, I'm just going to absorb some local colour inside and call it a night. Big things tomorrow."

"Bully for you, it's hot enough in there to fry the tits off a Brahmin. Keep your mutt from pissing on my bar."

Cort stepped inside and blinked experimentally. Oh, much much better. Glad that's over with. It's always so damn dark in here. Her refractory period had shortened considerably, and she could make out everything inside after a moment. There were only two people aside from Gob and Nova, and one of them was headed up the stairs with the redhead. The other was passed out in the far right corner, holding a beer. She could see the ghoul at the sink cleaning something, his back to the room.

Fiddling with the arm of her sunglasses, she decided to keep them on. People not being able to tell where she was looking was probably a useful advantage, and she was well accustomed to wearing them by now. Thank goodness I blew off the bottom of my ear instead of the part I use. Wait, I'm happy I shot a chunk out of myself. Perfect. She walked over to the corner of the bar and slung up into a stool, resting her chin on her palm. Dogmeat sniffed around the base and then collapsed under her, facing outwards and watching. The whole place felt practically comatose in the heat, and Cort comfortably daydreamed until Gob turned around and spotted her.

"Hi Gob. How's it going." Cort wiggled the fingers of the hand she was leaning on, too warm and relaxed to do anything else. She wasn't prepared for the wary look she got and widened her eyes into something resembling alertness. "What? I'm not going to hit you, or anything. At least not on purpose."

"So, you're back from doing Moriarty's dirty work?" Gob rasped out at her.

Cort pinched the line on her nose and closed her eyes. Ah jeez. "Gob, I don't do anyone's 'dirty work'. I do my own work."

Gob leaned over the edge of the bar and glared at her. "Is that what you told Silver before you killed her?"

Ah jeeeez. Spoke louder out there than I thought. Cort dropped her hand and looked at him for a moment, before leaning her head in close to his, hands folded together. Gob jerked back like his hair(what was left of it, anyway) was on fire. "Stop being foolish and get back over here." Cort hissed at him. Slowly, he complied. "So you were friends with Silver? Up here, Gob." He snapped his eyes back up to hers and she sighed. What the hell do these turn into in a tank top, cornea magnets?

"N-No but she was a nice person. To everybody." So nice to him then, Cort figured. No wonder he'd been pissed off. Nice was probably a rare commodity when you looked like a second-hand cadaver. She lowered her voice and leaned closer, almost bumping his forehead. Gob swallowed.

"Yeah, which includes me, after the frying pan incident."

"Frying pan?"

"Shush. Now isn't it better for everyone to think Silver is dead so no one, particularly an asshole Irishman, will want to go looking and find her?"

Comprehension slowly dawned on Gob. "Ooh. Gotcha." He looked at Cort sheepishly. "Sorry for jumping the gun on you."

"Not your fault. What the heck were you supposed to think? You heard what you heard, and let's face it, you don't know me from Eve. I'm just some klutz stranger that creamed you and disappeared like a month ago." She frowned. "I don't even think I told you my name. That's kinda rude."

"Oh I know it. Moira told me. She comes in some evenings and talks. A lot." Gob peeked over her shoulder at the door and then back at Cort. "I wanted to tell you before you left but I couldn't get your attention without Moriarty noticing me. He's got a terminal in the back room with lots of information on it. I thought maybe there'd be stuff about your Dad in there. I don't know how to get in it but they must've had lots of those things in a Vault, right?"

"Yeah, but it's okay, Gob. Really in the long run, I think I made out better running around than just going in a straight line."

"Sooo what did you do out there? Will you tell me?" He stared at her hopefully.

Sure, but what about you? You're the only ghoul I've ever met and I wanna know more. I'm younger right? Story-time for me first." Cort looked over the rim of her glasses and grinned.


Gob's heart leapt. He finally had someone to talk to again. There was still Nova, but she was getting more and more distant the farther she fell into using Jet. Moriarty rode her ass about it constantly, nobody wanted to hump a junkie, he'd say. Gob had asked her to stop, but she'd only given him a tired smile and told him it made the days go faster, and faster days meant out of debt with Colin sooner. He was pretty sure the only place she was going fast was dead and gone. He'd have to ask Cort later if she could do something for Nova like she did for Silver. Gob would be lonelier, but friends you didn't see were better than dead ones you didn't have. He could at least daydream about them out there, like he did about Cort now.

"Earth to Gob. Gob, come in."

Cort. She'd reached over and patted his arm, the bare part, and she was still looking at him, sunglasses perched on the end of her nose, and oh sweet Jesus her eyes were pretty. Slate grey and soft. Gob coughed and pulled himself back together.

"Sorry, was just thinking about where to start. Where I'm really from is this place called Underworld, down in DC..."


After hearing about how Gob was enslaved after leaving his mother Carol and the ghoul city behind, eventually ending up as Moriarty's chattel, Cort was nauseated. She had a good idea from her experience with Silver to conclude that Gob working to 'pay off his debt' would extend far beyond whatever Moriarty had actually paid for him. Like decades. He had been here for well over one already.

No wonder he grasped at any sign of kindness, Cort thought. He probably would have offed himself before now if not for the blind hope. He's like an abused animal. I have to get him out of here somehow, but how, how, oh God. Christ don't laugh, not now, he'll think it's about him. Gob hauled out a bottle of Nuka-Cola for her as she started to hiccup.

"Drink this and try to burp while holding your breath." Gob levered the cap off on the edge of the bar and handed the bottle to her as she dug into a pocket. "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks, they'll go away soon." Cort grabbed the bottle cap and made a hard fist around it out of sight while she did as Gob suggested. She managed a burp just as the points cut through into her palm. She forced a small smile onto her face. "See? All better. Now it's my turn."

Cort tried to make her story as adventurous and innocuous as possible at the same time, leaving the darker bits out. The last thing she needed was to depress Gob any further. She told him about meeting Crow and Agatha's music and the sights along the way, and about finding Dogmeat(he had been positively delighted at this, and had come around the bar to pet the animal) and the fight with the Yao Guai.

"Is that how you lost part of your ear?" Dogmeat quietly whuffed under her chair as Gob asked this.

"Uh, well..."

Moriarty snapped from behind them and she jumped. "Gob! Just because she's missing parts doesn't mean you have a chance to drop yours off in her pants. Stop yattering and do yer job." The ghoul shut down immediately and shot back around the bar to the sink, while Cort shoved her glasses back up and spun around to face Moriarty.

Well thanks, Captain Bringdown. She lifted the Nuka bottle and wiggled it around before draining it empty. "He was. How much was this thing? I think I'm finished for the evening." Cort resigned herself to abandoning Gob for the moment. Isn't this a laugh. Who does this remind you of, girl?

"Twenty caps, and I'm sure you were going to pay before leaving like a good lass." Cort dug the contents of her pockets out and piled most of the caps onto the bar. The price was definitely inflated; after living around a trader for a month she knew the basic rates for just about everything common. She made a note to figure out how to get her pound of flesh back before slipping off the stool and past him, not breaking eye contact. Gob scurried over to pull the money into the till.

Leaning against the doorjamb, she waited for Dogmeat to catch up. "Why of course Colin, don't you trust me? I'm just like my father." Cort tipped a lazy salute at Gob and was gone.