Disclaimer Number Ten --- I do not own Fallout or any of it's insane and very confusing content. Thank you.

Chapter Nine

Ambushes suck. A lot.

"Yeah, I know. C'mon Fell. Let's get some shut-eye." I offered

I took her arm, and started leading her home. "This sucks." She muttered.

"I know Fell. I know." I said apologetically.

We walked in silence, and I started thinking. It's my fault, really. She shouldn't have to go. I killed him, not her…I'll bring it up with Simms.

~Not a bad idea, really.~

Rrrgh. Don't you ever go away?

~Two months isn't enough? Jesus, you must like me a lot.~

Hardy har har.

We went inside, and I flopped dejectedly down on the sofa. Groaning, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Burke smelt odd."

Fell smirked. "You have a murderer at gunpoint, and you're thinking about his smell?"

I snorted. "He smelt clean, Jesus."

Fell laughed, and went and got herself something to eat. "You know," She started, "maybe this is for the best."

I raised an eyebrow.

~You do that a lot.~

Shut up.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," she said, "we've just been wandering around the center of the Wasteland. Maybe we should branch out. I dunno, become mercenaries or something. Bodyguards?"

I chuckled, despite the circumstances. "Well, maybe I'll become a bodyguard. You won't have to."

"Why not?" She asked.

"Think for a minute. Who shot Burke?"

She frowned. "You. And don't think I don't know where you're going with this. I'm leaving too."

"Why!? You have more here at stake than I do. You sure as hell have more friends than me, you've got a better reputation, you're likable, hell! You're even richer than I am! Why the hell would you leave?!" I ranted.

I continued on like that for a good few minutes before I finished.

"Because." Fell stated in a matter of fact tone, "Moriarty's not a good enemy to have."

I winced. "Ah. Right." I looked down. "Sorry."

"So it's settled."

"That we're leaving town? Yup."

"Shouldn't we sell off some of the stuff in here?"

"Why don't we just sell the whole house?"

"Good idea." Fell admitted.

"Yeah. How much should we sell it for?"

Fell thought for a minute before answering. "Umm…..maybe twenty, or thirty thousand caps?"

"You really think anybody in Megaton has that amount of cash?" Shift asked.

"Right. Should we talk to Moira about it or..?" She trailed.

"Wait a minute!" I exclaimed.

"What?"

"Sevyaj. We need to wipe his memory."

"Right. He knows a lot."

"Are you any good with terminals?" I asked.

Fell looked down sheepishly. "No."

"Damn. Neither do I."

"Should we just bash in the screen?"

I sighed. So simple, yet so effective.

~You'd never think of it.~

Shut. Up.

"Sure. Do you want to, or should I?"

"No, allow me." Fell grabbed a sledgehammer from the storage area, and headed for the bedroom.

~Nothing fazes her. It's quite amazing~

Yeah.

~Most people would've gone insane from the amount of stress, but she's taking it rather well.~

I'm starting to think you have romantic intentions.

Farell snorted. ~Please. She's not my type. If I ever cheated on her, she'd bash my head in. Besides, she's fleshy, I'm not.~

Touché.

~Thank you.~

Glass shattered upstairs, and Fell walked down with a content smile on her lips.

"You look happy." I remarked.

"Well, there's a certain satisfaction to be had when smashing things." She responded.

I nodded. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."

"Fine. So, should we just take what we can carry, and sell it to Moira for all she's got?"

"Sounds alright to me. Take what you want, I'll get what I need later."

"Alright. We'll talk to Moira in the morning. Night Shift." Fell yawned.

"Night." I responded. Fell turned back up the stairs, and I grabbed a blanket to drape over myself.

What a day.

~Seriously. You get a house only to find that some crazy motherfucker hired some other crazy motherfuckers to kill you off. Tough.~

Please, just shut up. I was thinking, not hoping for conversation.

~Too bad. You've got it.~

Damn you.

~Good night to you too.~

And with that last line, Farell walked upstairs, probably to sleep on the other couch. I yawned, rolled over, and promptly fell asleep.

Hours Later

The door opened quietly, and four men, and one woman walked into the house.

"This them?" Asked the first figure.

The second and third showed aggressive body language. Flared nostrils, crossed arms, narrowed eyebrows. "No shit it is." The third one said.

"Shut your mouth Crux. You're a badass, we all know it, but don't make me kill you." The woman threatened.

The fifth interjected. "You won't be killing anybody Letum. We're here to take care of some loose ends." He looked at the first figure. "Teufel. See if they've gained access to Sevyaj's archives."

"Going." Teufel responded.

At this point, I woke up.

The fuck?

He started to get up, but was stopped.

~Don't!~ Farell shouted. ~Phantoms. They found us. You move, they know you're awake. And then we both die. Lie still, we might have a chance.~

The fifth turned his attention back to the second figure. "Now Night. Tell me, why didn't you tell me of these two before?"

Night straightened up. "I didn't know who they were, at the time. I was walking past the bomb towards the bar when I heard the sheriff talking to the two. They did some goody-goody deed for him, and he gave them some caps and the deed. I sent a message out as soon as I could."

The fifth nodded. "Good. Now, we can't let this knowledge get out. We are the shadows of the Wasteland. It would be disastrous if our name were to get out, but even more so if it were known that we failed a contract."

Teufel walked back downstairs. "Can't tell."

Five tilted his head. "Why not?"

"Well, they probably know. Scratch that, from what Night just said, they do know. But how much, I dunno. Sevyaj's busted."

"Busted?" Five asked in an undertone.

"Hey, I don't know why, but the screen's bashed in! I swear Occam, I didn't touch anything."

Occam! That's the scum who planned the massacre.

~Don't. Move. If I have to restrain you, I will. I have no intention of dying today.~

Occam sighed.

Letum unsheathed the machete at his left hip. "You want I should kill 'em?"

Occam re-sheathed it. "No. Bind them. Gag them. Take them to Headquarters, I'll talk to them."

Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shitohshitohshitohshitohshit

Farell swore. ~Shit! What do we do!?~ He started panicking, and started pacing.

Occam walked over the where I was laying. "You've been awake for most of the conversation, worm. Your breathing changed. I like you. You escaped. That makes you interesting. We won't hurt you on the way there, but we'll have to blind you."

~Wait. Blind? As in, no eyes?! Fuuuck! Man, if you lose your eyes, I lose MY eyes!~

My eyes shot open, and I stared into Occam's. He just laughed. "No, we're not going to blind you. Blindfold, you." He laughed again, a chilling laugh. He started to walk away, but turned back.

"Oh, by the way. You should tell Fell not to resist when we blind her too. Don't want to have to hurt her."

He started to walk away again, but turned back. Again. "Really though, we don't."

The next two hours were a blur for me. Just endless walking, the occasional gunshot, and more walking.

That, combined with the exhaustion, almost crippled me.

Hours later, we stopped walking. And then a sharp pain erupted in the back of my head.

Alright! That's Chapter Nine. Wow, when inspiration strikes, it really strikes hard. I hope you enjoy, and next chapter, or the next, will end the Introduction. Interestingly enough, Teufel means Fiend in German, and Letum means death in Latin. Anyways.

I would really appreciate the thirty seconds it takes to review. Even if you've reviewed before. Please? Thank you.

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