Whee, this chapter was one hell of a slog. Charon's going to be as complex as Cort and it took me a while to wrap my head around everything. Enjoy it, I think I'm toast for the weekend.
Oh God it's worse, it's a lot worse. Cort was grinding her teeth and trying not to scream. Barrows had taken skin, marrow, and was now performing what she could only class as vivisection on her thigh.
"We're almost finished."
"JUST FUCKING DO IT!" She dug her hands into the sides of the gurney and wailed. Barrows sliced one last long strip out of her and placed the scalpel down.
"There. I can't thank you enough, Cort."
Hitching and rubbing her eyes, she watched the hole in her leg begin to fill in. "You're welcome. Now let's never do that again." Cort spared a thought for wondering what normally emanated the clinic, because nobody had apparently batted an eye and bothered to check on the screaming.
Bringing her three cans of Pork N' Beans from a cabinet, Barrows clumsily patted her on the shoulder and opened one for her. "Here. You're about to be very hungry."
Cort watched him store the pieces of herself and sucked cold beans off her fingers, rapidly ploughing through the other cans. "So that's how it works, huh? Have to replace the parts somehow."
"Yes. Don't be surprised if you eat more than normal for the next few days. Let me know when you're back to feeling like yourself and we'll flush the radiation out of you."
Cort tried stuffing her tongue inside the last can, chewing on the rim, and then gave up. "M'kay. So will that actually help? Please for the love of cookies say that'll help, because that sucked."
"I can't say for sure, and it will probably take years to produce results with the equipment available. But it's new, and anything new is good."
"Having experienced an awful lot of new lately, I could argue against that sentiment." She flicked at her leg. "I think you can clean me out now."
Barrows came over and started filling her with Rad Away while Cort tried not to puke. "Oh crap. Maybe I should have eaten afterward."
Barrows cocked a skinless eyebrow at her. "You would've really ended up chewing on your leg." He looked at her speculatively. "You really are the most peculiar smoothskin."
"Yeah well. I still believe that being nice for the sake of it pays off, even if everyone else seems to operate to the contrary. Besides, I owed you."
"You already paid for your treatment, Cort. You don't owe me for that." He pulled the last of the needles out of her arm.
Cort grinned wickedly. "I meant for holding my hand." She grinned even wider when Barrows' head shot up. "Remembered a few days after I woke up. It meant a lot, a ton, so thanks. You remind me of my Dad." Sobering, she slid off the gurney and redressed, watching the doctor going over to unlock the clinic doors. "Told you nice for the sake of nice pays off. Now, I need to go finish up business here and find actual Dad." Slinging on her pack, she signalled to Dogmeat and went over to the exit.
"Well good luck Cort. I hope to see you again, and thank you." He held out his hand to shake.
"You too." Cort stared at his hand, and appeared to make up her mind about something. "Oh, screw it." Grabbing him, she hugged as hard as she could and then bolted out the door. Barrows stared at it, bemused for a few moments after it closed.
"Very peculiar smoothskin."
Cort made her other goodbyes and final transactions, then stopped into Carol's to pick up her letter for Gob, downing two bowls of noodles and garnering another hug before leaving. "I'll probably stop back in before I leave for Megaton, Carol, so you can always write another one too. I need to go through the MoT to get that dish I told you about first."
"Oh you be careful, honey. You don't need to end up hurt again like last time." Carol fussed and shoved an apple into her hands, smiling when Cort tore into it.
"Don't worry Carol, I'll be fine. I'm going to go get Charon now, so I'll be safer this time around." I'm getting better treatment out of so-called monsters than regular people out here. I wonder what the hell that says about the state of things.
"Oh honey, are you sure you want to do that? Charon is a violent man, the things he's done for Ahzrukhal..."
"Yeah, but he was told to do them right? I'll be fine. I'm not going to leave him in that corner."
"Well alright, sweetie, I'm not going to change your mind. Just be very careful. Now, you come back as soon as you can." Carol wrapped her in another hug just as Greta came back in from her break. Cort hugged Carol while giving the sour ghoul behind her a shit-eating grin through a mouthful of apple.
"Bye, Carol."
Striding around the balcony with Dogmeat, Cort finished her apple and flipped the core to the dog. "You're spoiled. Yes you are." She paused outside the door to the 9th Circle and crouched down in front of him, whispering. "Now I want to have a talk with you. We're going to pick up a new friend to travel with, and he's probably not going to like Momma very much, not that I can blame him. He doesn't actually look like he likes anyone, really. Anyway. Remember the last time we were in here?" He whuffed quietly. "Yeah. Well even so, I want you to take care of him too, and don't feel jealous. You're still Momma's best boy. Are you okay with all that?" She smiled as the dog licked her face. "That's my fella. Now let's go get Charon."
Walking into the bar, Cort plastered a fake smile onto her face, slinging her pack off.
"Well well, smoothskin. I was wondering if I'd see you again." Ahzrukhal leaned over the bar at her and leered.
"I said I'd be back." Cort dug out two bags and tossed them onto the counter. "Caps, and the other materials. Want to count them?"
He hefted the bag. "Oh, it feels right, smoothskin. I trust you to keep up, uh, your end, of the bargain." He produced a ratty piece of paper from inside his suit. "Here's mine. Enjoy it in good health." Plucking it out of his hand, Cort tucked it carefully inside her armour. "I'll let you have the pleasure of informing him about the change of hands yourself."
"I'm sure he'll be thrilled." I'm also sure he's not deaf or blind, you idiot. Watching Ahzrukhal start to count through the bag of caps anyway, she walked over to Charon and looked up at him. "You heard?"
He turned his head down to her and rasped. There was definitely excitement in the ghoul's chalky eyes. "Yes. I must take care of something before we leave."
"Go for it." She followed him back to the bar, where Ahzrukhal was still fussing over Cort's payment.
"So Charon, come to say goodbye to your dear old employer?"
"Yes."
Cort's eyes widened as Charon unslung his shotgun, slamming her visor down just in time for a spray of bloody tissue to hit it. She watched as her new companion moved around the bar and unloaded another shot into what was now an extremely dead former employer. Looking down, Cort giggled and started flicking chunks off her shoulders and chest, listening to people yelling around her. Why am I not surprised the eyeballs ended up on my tits. Winthrop skidded in a moment later, the Mister Gutsy Cerberus putting behind him.
"Cort, what the hell?" He looked around the room, boggling.
"Everything's fine, I hired Charon, Charon shot Ahzrukhal. Didn't know it was going to happen. Sorry about the mess." She blinked at him as something slid off the ceiling and hit her helmet.
"Oh-Okay. Well then. I can't really argue with that anyway." Collecting himself, he waved at Cort. "Uh, come in again when you've got more to trade, huh? I'm pretty sure one of the junctions caught fire and I'll need stuff for it." Sparing an intense glance back into the room, he left with the robot trailing after him, who was muttering something about 'missing the fun' and 'expected cleanup duty'.
"Roger. Man, nobody liked this guy." She turned back to the room as Charon came over to her, who had waited for Winthrop to leave.
"Alright, we can go."
"Peachy. Just let me dump this shit down the sink first." Cort went around the bar and started emptying the drugs down the sink there, being careful not to let any of it touch her, or to step in the slop left of Ahzrukhal. Charon stood on the other side, giving her a funny look. "What? he was an asshole, no wonder you shot him. I could've done without the paint job, though. It was bad enough getting near enough to manipulate him, wearing him is really icky." She giggled again, then thinned her lips. "Sorry about that. By the way. It probably didn't sound very nice, but it was the only way I could think of to get you loose." She looked back up to him, belatedly thinking of something. "Where's your stuff? You can go get it while I'm doing this, or anything else you need to do here."
His face closed off again entirely. "I own nothing, and do not wish to stay any longer than you require."
"Oh." Finishing up in silence, Cort wiped herself down, shrugged and then shoved her caps back into her pack. "Okay, then. Let's go."
Charon trudged silently behind her and Dogmeat down into the Metro. Cort had to repair her armour again, and she was fairly certain there was still an entire set of Talon combat armour left that she could give to the ghoul. She pulled out the parts she needed for herself and Dogmeat, sat down, and gestured to the rest of the cache, which she had hidden in the wall of the ladies room. "Use what you want out of it. Dogmeat is carrying extra ammo for your shotgun already, and there's a spare pack in there towards the back."
He started stripping off to change into the better armour, and Cort shuffled around to face the other way. Belatedly something dawned on her. "You can talk whenever you want. Do whatever you want, really, aside from ditching me. Shooting things trying to kill me would be really good."
"For good or ill, I now serve you. Shooting things is definitely covered, and is a welcome change from that damned corner."
Cort smiled and started replacing her own plates. "Knew you could talk."
"I was brainwashed, not lobotomized. Someone orders me to shut up, I shut up. Otherwise, I can say whatever the hell I want. Ahzrukhal did not take long to get tired of what that was. Eventually, so will you."
Frowning, Cort looked over her shoulder. "Will not." Charon cocked an eyebrow at her and said nothing, putting the last of his armour in place, then started tearing down his shotgun. She turned around to watch.
"So what do you wish me to call you?"
"Anything but late for supper." Charon blinked at her. Cort blinked owlishly back. "My name, what else?"
"Previous employers have had their own ideas about suitable titles for themselves."
"Well, I'm new. Cort's fine. The dog is Dogmeat." She smiled as he whuffed from the corner. "Shotgun shells should be on the front...what is it Dogmeat, the left? The left front pouch. Any other ammo, just ask and he'll bring it to you. And there's a 10mm pistol holstered on the front right."
"And does the mutt know how to use it?" Charon snarked.
"Oh ha, ha. No, it's backup for me, and now you. The 'mutt' has his own methods. You watch his back, he'll watch yours."
"You're ordering me to guard your guard dog?"
"No, I'm asking you to act like part of the team. I don't need to be guarded, neither does he. What we do need is help slaughtering things more efficiently."
"So what particular things are stymieing your no doubt impressive skills?"
Cort frowned, starting to get her back up. I don't know why people would tell Mr. Congeniality here to shut up, this is just delightful. I won't, but I'm done rolling over. "Particular Super Mutant things. They started getting bigger when I went into the MoT. That's where we're going tomorrow, if you can handle slinking around with me and Dogmeat. We'll go slow, you're probably rather... diminished from standing around for so long." She paused after getting a satisfyingly outraged look for that barb. "Just how long were you stuck there?"
"18,942 days. It may not be accurate, there were points where I was wounded and could not keep track of time. If you are so concerned about the matter of my performance, then why did you employ me?"
"Didn't you want to get out of there?" She tilted her head at him, puzzled. Over fifty years with that bastard would make her want to go to the damned moon, never mind just out of the stinking bar. I was sure he wanted to leave. Positive.
"Just because I badly wanted to get out of there does not mean that I wanted to end up here, or receive false concern from an arrogant smoothskin."
"Oh that fucking tears it." Charon watched her scramble to her feet and stand over him, digging around inside her armour. She finally plucked his contract free and held it out. "If all this ain't floating your boat then here. Dogmeat and I made out fine before you and your low opinion, and we can just go back to doing it again." She wiggled the piece of paper when he did nothing. "Well, go on and take it if you want to beat feet. Do you want it, or not?" He continued to sit there, holding the parts of his shotgun, staring. "For fuck's sakes, do you want it or NOT? Take the damn thing!"
"I CAN'T!" Cort backpedaled. The man could yell like a banshee, albeit one choking on gravel. He was half out of his seated position on the floor, gun parts scattered. Cort carefully replaced his contract and sat down in front of him again, quietly setting the weapon components back in front of him. Resting her chin on her knees, she watched him slowly sit back down and resume. After a while, she uncurled and went over to lock and barricade the door.
"I'm tired, and it's been a long day. Tomorrow's probably going to be even longer. If you want to sleep too, Dogmeat will wake both of us up if he hears anything. You probably should. I've cleaned this and the Central station out twice now, so I'm not expecting anything too crazy to pop up, either." Cort flopped down on the floor, facing away from him. The dog trotted over and leaned against her back, nose pointed towards the door. Closing her eyes, she listened to Charon finish reassembling his shotgun. His voice rasped out a few minutes later.
"If there is a chance of hostile encounters, why didn't you remain in Underworld for the evening?"
Cort sighed. "Because you didn't want to. Goodnight."
