"Why are you bothering me about it?" Paladin Rider responds harshly, as the implications of this super mutant sighting set in my mind. "Can't you see we're busy here? Oh, fine. Have these intruders brought to me. Alive, if possible, but dead if possible. And get the hell out of here."

Maybe I'm wrong, and this isn't Kenji. But to my beating heart, whether I'm right or wrong is irrelevant. How many super mutants could there be in this part of New Jersey, anyway? It has to be him.

"Wait!" I scream instinctively moments after the newcomer has hurriedly left the room, reaching for my gun. "If you hurt them…I swear…"

There is a clank and a whoosh of air, and in less than a blink of my eye, the long barrel of Paladin Rider's weapon is staring into my gaping face.

"Oh?" she sneers. "So they're friends of yours, I presume?"

"Er…yes…" I manage. "Well, one of them is." From the sound of it, I can only believe that the mercenary was that same random fellow I'd seen back in that gymnasium, and Kenji and he have kissed and made up – or maybe, one was forcibly dragging the other along with him. I can only hope it's Kenji leading – no, Kenji would never do such a thing.

"I knew this was a bad idea," the Paladin said, shaking her head. "I told the Sentinel myself. But no, of course she had to make us take you in. Those robot parts she's got have made her soft. She might as well just retire and purify water for a living." The Paladin huffed, making me take another stumbling step backwards. "Well, it's no matter. The Sentinel's gone off to Old Light, so I'm in charge now."

My heart skips a beat, then accelerates again, as her barrel thrusts about another foot straight into my nose, close enough that my pupils cross if I stare at the end.

I was right about one thing I'd heard, though. The Brotherhood of Steel does indeed think with their guns, not their minds. I suppose it's only appropriate for the sons and daughters of soldiers to be soldiers themselves.

"Calm down, Paladin," a voice says from my side. The fact that Knight Fox had also been in the room had entirely slipped from my mind in that moment. "Perhaps it's not what you think."

"He's a Super Mutant, Knight Fox," Rider responds with bile. "Their kind must be eradicated from the earth. Or do you not remember how they almost destroyed this country a decade ago? Even Sentinel Cross would agree with me, after all she saw back in the days before we had Liberty Prime."

"Fine," Fox responds.

The interrogation continues, but I do not see what happens next, since Rider has me forcefully escorted from the room. My gun is taken from me – how familiar – and I am placed in the same room I'd been in earlier. As she leaves, I hear the click of a lock on the door.

I lay back on the bed, trying to get what comfort I can. Kenji is here, I think, it'll all be okay, it'll all be okay.

And at least, now, I have an answer – I think – for where our girl is. Vault 98. I know where it is, too: not far from here.

But more questions still haunt me. How does everyone know of her? Why is everyone looking for her? And why are the Vaulters infiltrating everything?

More importantly, Charlotte seems to be connected to – my detective instincts tell me that not even Vault 98 knows who.

So, god damn it, who is she?

I am fiddling with the Pip-Boy on my arm, listening again to this Radio Neuf-Trois. From what little I can discern, one of the songs I hear seems to be called something like "Poupeé" something something, by some woman named France Gall. It's actually a lovely song, even if I can't understand at all what the hell she's saying.

And there's another named – I think – "Bernadette" – that's the name repeated about a dozen times. And another – "Champs-Elysees?" – I've heard that used to be a place, a mythical place, where music and sex used to flow in the broad sun-lit streets – and another – they all blend together after a time.

Before I can fall asleep, the door opens. I instinctively back up and tense, because it is a shadowed figure in Brotherhood power armour. The figure isn't wearing a helmet, but it's dark enough that I can't see facial details.

"Nice Pip-Boy," a gentle man's voice says. It's not Paladin Rider – it's Knight Fox. In my relief, his words sound like music on a gentle draft.

"Er…thanks," I respond, trying to smile.

"You'll be pleased to know that I was able to convince the Paladin to let you get out of here. Your friend explained everything."

I bring myself to my feet and dust myself off the best I can. "Kenji?" I ask, hopefully.

"Yeah," he nods. "And the other guy." I can't help but smile – he' "But there's one thing you've got to help us with first."

As I am led into the room where a dozen or so figures are sitting around a table, casually talking amongst each other, there are two non-Brotherhood members sticking out like sore thumbs at one end. One is Kenji.

The moment I see him, I rush up to him and embrace. He chuckles softly, looking happier and more energetic than the last I saw him. "Heh, it's been a while, no?" he whispers in my ear.

"Yeah." I bury my face in his chest.

I then lock eyes with the other figure, the "mercenary" from earlier, still clad in the same cowboy attire from earlier.

"Oh," Kenji says, "this is Perez."

Perez waves at me. "Howdy."

"Perez is from Timbuktu. He's a pretty nice guy, actually."

"But…you two were…"

"It was all a big misunderstanding," Perez grins, showing a silver tooth. "Kenji's a pretty nice guy, too." His accent was somewhat strange – enough to tell me he couldn't have originally been from New Jersey. I've met a few Floridians in my life, and they sound a bit like that. Yeah – the accent, the black hair, the tanned skin – definitely Floridian.

"And Kenji's told me all about you," Perez continues.

My smile deepens.

And it is within a minute that my smile fades, as soon as I discover what I'm being asked to do.

"So let me get this straight," I ask. "You want us to help you with storming Vault 98. I'm not a fucking soldier."

"We don't have that many people, and time is of the essence," Paladin Rider responds, scowling – I suspect that, even with this supposed Sentinel Cross gone, the Paladin was not the one giving orders. With her power armour's helmet off, she's a middle-aged blonde woman with a scowl on her face – about what I'd expected of her.

Fox tries to calm the situation. "We're not asking you to do much, just accompany us, and help out as much as you can. Believe me, we didn't want to do this either, but we need your help – the people in this room are all we have. The nearest reinforcements are days away and – they're preoccupied. Damn Scarlet Knights."

Trying to ignore his comment, I look at Kenji, and he nods. I turn back to Fox, and nod in turn. I can accept this, I decide. It's not like I haven't seen combat before, and if it's necessary for getting the job done, it's what I'll do.

"There's something we've gleaned from our prisoner – with a little, er, encouragement," Rider begins. I really do not want to know what they actually did to Wilkins, a sinking pit of a feeling worsened by the fact that Rider is sitting next to a bag with a syringe visibly sticking from the opening at the top. "The main entrance is in Toms River. We can't go in that way. But – Vault 98 had been busy digging several secret tunnels, to serve as alternate exists. One of them opens out into the ruins of the pre-War community known as Holiday City, about two miles from here. Our scouting reports suggested the area was clear of wildlife."

Fox had a visible grimace on his face as he continues. "Right, so, Vault 98." He claps his hands together. "It shouldn't be too difficult of a mission. We go in through this tunnel, get the girl, get any useful information and technology they have, and get out the same way we came in. Easy,"

"It's never this easy," Perez mutters, just loud enough for me to hear. "Not with these people."