Yes, on time! Enjoy! Thanks so much for giving it a read!
The tail-end of the journey coming back from the Glowing Sea was tortuously long for Betty. Hancock hadn't said much since they left Virgil's cave and the ghoul remained perched on her right shoulder, silent as he peered through the scope. Besides the rare moments when deep sleep finds him, it was the quietest Hancock had ever been around Betty. Even her few attempts at idle chat were met with grunts, shrugs, or one word replies. A little unnerving, to say the least, but she was never much of a quitter.
"Whatever's been on your mind for the past eight hours, spill it," said Betty. "I might actually go mad over the silence."
"It's nothing to worry about," said Hancock. Man, was he ever grateful no one could read his innermost thoughts, even Betty, as much as he enjoyed sharing with her. He knew this specific serum wouldn't work on him, but if Virgil could create something to ease or cure ghoulification, Hancock wouldn't be the only one to take advantage of it. Hell, maybe it could help ferals. Definitely something to ponder over.
"If that was my answer, you wouldn't let me drop it. Also, I'm pretty sure I know what's making the wheels in your head spin so fast, I just...don't know how to bring it up. I was hoping you would," Betty said with a frown.
Hancock lifted the assault rifle to his shoulder once more and replied, "Less than a half-mile and we should be outta this shithole."
The ghoul hopped down from Betty's shoulder and stretched his arms above his head with a loud grunt. He turned and handed Betty her assault rifle and as she passed him his shotgun, she said, "Virgil's serum, right? I saw your face when he spoke about it."
A soft smile appeared on Hancock's face. Seemed he wasn't the only one with an eye for details. If they weren't so new, he wouldn't think much of a little white lie, but he knew better. "I found it...interestin'. Maybe he could help a brother out, and I know I won't be the only ghoul who feels that way."
"Because you want it or because you think I'd want it?" she asked.
"Both? I dunno, love. Virgil says he can cure himself and he's a damn super mutant. Would it be too much of a reach to cure a ghoul? Makes someone like me think about certain things..like the fact that as much as I don't wanna think about it, there's gonna come a time when you leave this world..and I'll still be around."
Betty took off her helmet and said, "There is another option, one that you mentioned, actually."
"We ain't outta the Sea yet, put the helmet back on, please," said Hancock, ignoring her train of thought. Why the fuck did he have to go and say she'd make a good ghoul? Of course she'd go for it.
"What was it you said...oh, that's right, 'Not that you wouldn't make a helluva ghoul.' Right?"
This wasn't the first time Betty thought of the future..one without her in it. The thought often crept into her mind just before she'd drift off into sleep in Hancock's arms. Suddenly, thirty or forty years with him didn't seem like enough of a lifetime.
"That ain't the life for ya," he replied with a growl. "You turn ghoul, whatever respect you've earned from the people gets thrown out, and you gotta start all over. No fuckin' dice. Put the damn helmet back on."
Betty laughed and her helmet still wedged beneath her arm, she walked ahead and Hancock followed close behind. She glanced at him with a grin and said, "I didn't expect you to tell your girlfriend what she can or can't do."
A lone, feral reaver staggered up a low hill on Betty's left and when it focused its dead, soulless eyes on her with a strangled shriek, she lobbed her helmet at it and knocked its head clean off.
"I think I'm all right without the helmet for the rest of the trip, don't you?" Betty asked. "Maybe I'll get a few more rads in me."
"You want some rads in ya, I can help with that, but just 'cause I said you'd make a helluva ghoul don't mean you gotta go running naked through the Glowing Sea...as fuckin' hot as that'd be." Hancock snorted with laughter as he jogged over to pick up the helm and added, "And as your steady, I'd like to think I have some say in your life, as ya do with mine."
Hancock held out the blood smeared helmet and Betty said, "You always have a say. I love you, and I love who you are right now."
He smiled. "And I love you. Put the fuckin' helmet on."
Betty ripped the helm from his rough hands and smiled before she ran ahead, helmet tucked under her arm. Hancock tore after her, her loud laughter echoing around them.
"All the rads a girl could ask for!" she shouted over her shoulder.
"God damn it," he muttered to himself. "The fuck have I done?"
Of course Hancock wanted Betty by his side for the rest of his days. Life would be pretty shitty without her in it, and the thought of putting her body in the ground as they did with Nate made him want to shoot up every vial of med-x he could get his hands on. He couldn't let her turn, though. No guarantee that she'd even live through the ordeal, unless she was young and healthy to begin with. That would mean attempting to turn her within the next few years. Even an avid gambler like himself wouldn't go for those odds. If she croaked trying to turn for him, he'd never forgive himself, much less keep living. The only viable solution left in his eyes would be to find a cure for himself. That, they had time for.
When they arrived at the edge of the Glowing Sea, Betty skidded to a stop beside a ruined convertible, lungs burning. The power armor opened with a loud hiss before she threw herself across the hood of the car, arms and legs splayed out. Jesus, it was hot in that thing. A few minutes later, Hancock slowed to a shuffle and he circled around the car, never taking his eyes off of Betty.
"And to be honest, I don't know if I could screw a human version of you," Betty said when he passed her on her left. "It'd feel like cheating."
"Used to be a looker, you know," he murmured. "I think Nicky has some pictures of us before I turned. We should ask."
She laughed and replied, "I think you're a looker already. Might be a crime to be the most handsome man in the Commonwealth."
The ghoul laughed and said, "I wonder if that's why I spent so much time with Diamond City security back in the day."
"I'm sure it had nothing to do with that chem cartel you ran. You want to wear that shit for a little while?" she asked him as she nodded towards the armor. "It's a god damn oven in there and after being inside it for almost two whole days, I never want to see it again. I'd owe you."
Two days? That was way too much time away from the warmth between her legs. Hancock dropped his pack and shotgun beside the car and stood between Betty's knees with a smirk as his hands drifted over her thighs. Why the hell did she even bother wearing clothes around him? "I don't mind takin' it off your hands for a couple of hours, love."
"You're too good to me," she said with a sigh as his hands roamed further up her legs.
Once Hancock reached the waist of her pants, he tugged at the buttons until they became undone and pulled them down to her knees. Underwear, too? Jesus, he really should've brought up the perks to freeballin' it. Like getting railed at a moment's notice.
"Nothing's ever easy for us, is it?" she asked before she bit down on her lip as he brushed the pad of his thumb over her sweet spot a few times. She smiled up at the sky as he pulled her underwear aside and gave her a long, slow lick between her legs.
Hancock's combat knife appeared in his hand, the steel catching the last bit of light as the sun began to set, and he cut away the thin barrier of bastard fabric keeping him from the holiest of holies. "Sometimes, we get lucky."
The ruins of C.I.T. were not far off as the morning sun began to rise for a new day. Hancock was enjoying his time inside Betty's power armor perhaps a bit too much. The ghoul leveled a small, decrepit house over a pair of wounded raiders after he insisted that crashing through the walls of the foundation was their best course of action. It took Betty over a half hour to dig him out of the rubble when her Pip-boy caught a distress signal.
"This is Scribe Haylen of reconnaissance squad Gladius, to any unit in transmission range. Our unit has sustained casualties and we are running low on supplies. We're requesting support or evac from our position at Cambridge police station...automated message repeating."
"Scribe, huh?" said Hancock as he dusted some rubble from the joints of the power armor. "That's a Brotherhood rank if I remember. Fuck 'em."
Betty frowned and suggested, "If we go in there and give them some fire support, it'll make the Commonwealth more...real to them. It'll show them that there's good people who can handle their own and lend a hand to those who need it."
He stared at Betty as if she had just grown another head and she leaned into her hip, her arms crossed. The hint of a smirk on her lips betrayed her, and Hancock knew she wasn't pissed at his refusal. Good. They didn't have to agree on everything, but he'd be damned if he was going to help those bigoted garbage cans.
"It would be the diplomatic thing to do. Think of who you're responsible for," she said.
"I am," he replied. "And I think it could bring more harm than good. The Brotherhood ain't ever gonna see ghouls or anyone who's not pure human as anything other than a blight to be wiped off this planet. They. Can. Rot."
"The Brotherhood and the Commonwealth don't have to fight, or even be allies. Maybe we can work out some sort of truce with them; 'Leave us alone and we'll leave you alone,' that sort of thing. Maybe they can help us find the Institute or even fight against them. And it'll look better if we're the ones giving forth the effort."
"You keep sayin' 'we' and I'm still sayin,' no fuckin' way."
Betty nodded and said, "All right. As General, I think this is the right move for my people..and I love you dearly, but I'm going to help them."
She ran ahead, leaping over a fallen tree as Hancock thundered behind her, his steps as heavy as Strong's. As always, she was glad they were on the same team because a pissed off Hancock in power armor seemed very much like the recipe for the worst day ever.
"Diplomatic solution or not, they can burn in Hell for all I fuckin' care," Hancock growled. "I got your back, love...no one else's."
Betty shook her head and said, "If someone needs help-"
"-God damn it, yes, we help 'em but that don't mean I gotta like it. Good thing I'm wearing this armor. Wouldn't put it past those assholes to shoot me on purpose," said Hancock.
"I hope you know that if the Brotherhood was ever stupid enough to fuck with you, I'd raze them to the ground myself."
"You tryin' to get me hard again or save those idiots? Can't have both, talkin' like that," he said with a grin.
Betty and Hancock ran up the broken, splitting tarmac that led to the police station. A perimeter had been set up, but a few barriers couldn't stop a horde of over thirty feral ghouls from crashing through. It was a living nightmare; the ferals tore at whatever their vicious hands could grab a hold of, including a young Brotherhood soldier who was overwhelmed by several reavers and disemboweled not even ten feet away from Betty. It was hard to believe that every single feral ghoul driven to madness from radiation was once a normal human being. The pair bumped fists before they unleashed a little hell of their own, with Betty emptying a clip into several ferals rushing towards an injured soldier on the steps of the station, and Hancock plowing through a small group of the creatures with perfectly placed head shots from his shotgun.
The only Brotherhood member clad in power armor glanced at Betty and her heavily armored partner with genuine shock and shouted, "Civilians in the perimeter! Check your fire!"
A few ferals backed Betty against a steel barrier and if it weren't for her assault rifle blocking some of the blows, she'd be a goner. One managed to tear at her forearm and she shouted out in pain. Hancock bashed through the madness and grabbed Betty's good arm before he pulled her onto his shoulders. She stood up at full height and took aim once more, Hancock's armored hand clamped down around her boots to hold her steady as the Brotherhood soldiers stared for a moment in awe.
The scribe tumbled to her feet in a vain attempt to protect the injured soldier on the steps and a pair of ferals lunged for her. They fell to her boots, dead from a shotgun blast on Hancock's behalf, and he stood over the fallen soldiers until the fight ended as suddenly as it began. He reached out and pulled the scribe back on her feet as the other soldier glared at the stranger in power armor.
"We appreciate the assistance, civilians. But what's your business here?" asked the armored Brotherhood member.
Hancock reached up and took Betty's hand before she slid down from his shoulder and stood at full height behind her with his shotgun ready to blast the faces off of any Brotherhood soldier foolish enough to challenge them. Power armor had a way of making anyone feel twenty feet tall.
"We're just trying to survive out here, like everyone else," said Betty in a careful tone.
"The way you two charged in and engaged those ferals, I find that a bit difficult to believe. Are you from a local settlement?" asked the soldier.
"...I guess you could say that. We look after a fair amount of them. I'm General Betty Parker, of the Commonwealth Minutemen."
The injured man on the staircase scoffed and said, "Who the hell are they?"
"A militia of the people," Betty said with a hint of warning. "And the muscle behind me is the king of an anarchist town, John Hancock."
She could almost feel that cocky bastard smiling right through the helmet. She didn't mind adding to his ego now and again, especially when it was so well deserved.
"Hmm..I didn't expect any show of leadership out here. If I appear suspicious, it's because our mission here has been difficult. Since the moment we arrived in the Commonwealth, we've been constantly under fire. If you want to continue pitching in, we could use a couple of extra guns on our side," said the soldier. He stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Paladin Danse, Brotherhood of Steel. Over there is Scribe Haylen and Knight Rhys."
"We know who you are," said Betty. She shook his hand with a firm grip but when the soldier offered the same gesture to Hancock, all he received in return was a cold, metallic stare.
Paladin Danse nodded and continued with, "We're on recon duty but I'm down a man and our supplies are running low. I've been trying to send a distress call to my superiors, but the signal's too weak to reach them."
The soldier giving aid to the fallen stood up and she said, "Sir, if I may?"
"Proceed, Haylen," said the paladin with a nod.
"I've modified the radio tower on the roof of the police station, but I'm afraid it just isn't enough. What we need is something that can boost the signal," explained the scribe.
"Our target is Arc-Jet systems, and it contains the technology we need...the Deep Range Transmitter," said Danse. "We infiltrate the facility, secure the transmitter and bring it back here. So what do you say? Willing to give the Brotherhood of Steel a hand?"
Betty looked back at Hancock for a moment before she replied, "I don't know about helping the Brotherhood..but we'll help you. Let's get moving."
The paladin smiled and said, "Outstanding. Haylen, take Rhys inside and bind his wounds."
"Yes, Sir," said the scribe.
"Rhys," continued Danse, "once you're on your feet, I want you to make certain that the perimeter is secure.
"On it, Sir," groaned the injured Rhys.
"All right civilians..it's time to prove your worth. Head into the police station and resupply yourself, then let me know when you two are ready to begin. All right everyone, let's move!" Danse ordered.
Scribe Haylen chuckled as she wrapped an arm around her comrade, lifting him to his feet and said, "All right big guy, let's go."
Betty and Hancock followed Danse into the police station, with Rhys muttering angrily behind them. Scribe Haylen set him down on a sleeping bag and the soldier grunted in pain over the state of his broken ribs.
"Don't take what Knight Rhys says personally," said Danse. "He's like that with everyone."
As the Brotherhood soldiers dressed their wounds in the station's lobby, Hancock followed Betty into a corner office, where she stood before the warped, wooden desk with a wide grin.
"What's the smile for?" Hancock asked in a low voice. He closed the door behind him and stepped out of the power armor, itching to feel Betty's hand in his own.
"This was the police station where I was taken after that little incident with the stolen liquor when I was a kid. And I stood right here as the police chief told me how very disappointed he was that someone like me would do such a thing," Betty explained with a chuckle.
She wiped Hancock's sweating brow with a handkerchief she found in her coat pocket and the ghoul kissed her hard. Her arm bumped against the desk as he backed her into it and she yelped, not expecting the burning pain within a feeling so passionate.
Hancock reached into his pack and handed Betty a stimpak, and she pierced her flesh just beneath a nasty gash down the length of her forearm.
"Poor bastard got ya good," he whispered as he wrapped a bandage over what remained of the healing wound, and Betty nodded before she rested her head against the warmth of his shoulder.
The door swung open, slamming into the wall behind it and Rhys leaned against the doorway with a sneer. He marched up to Betty, not giving Hancock a second look, and with his face mere inches from hers, shouted, "You think you're some kinda hotshot?"
Betty couldn't help but smirk and when Hancock shoved the barrel of his shotgun beneath Rhys' chin, her grin became a mile wide. What a fantastically stupid show of aggression.
"You're new in the Commonwealth so lemme explain somethin' to ya: It's me who's the hotshot around here, asshole," said Hancock with narrowed eyes.
"DANSE, WE HAVE A GHOUL IN THE STATION! DANSE!" Rhys shouted and Hancock grabbed the front of the soldier's armor before his slammed his head into Rhys' nose.
Rhys staggered back, his nose a crooked, bleeding mess, and he threw a wild punch at the ghoul, catching him on the chin. Hancock reached down and grabbed Rhys' legs, throwing the soldier onto his back and straddled him, punching Rhys in the head several times. All Betty could do was watch as her ghoul beat the soldier's head in...Hancock never looked hotter, why the hell would she stop him? Besides, that idiot deserved to be put in place with a little bit of Commonwealth justice.
"You the only one dumb enough to fuck with us?" Hancock shouted at Rhys between punches as Danse rushed into the small room.
Before the armored paladin could react, Betty threw herself at Hancock's back and grabbed his wrists as she shouted, "All right, he's had enough!"
Danse lifted the knight to his boots and looked at the injuries to his face with a grimace. He looked back at Betty and said, "Is that why the ghoul wore the power armor? To trick us and gain access to the station? I should shoot it for that alone."
"Trust me," growled Hancock. "The only reason I'm here is because of Betty...that shithead should be lickin' at her boots outta gratitude for savin' his life. 'Sides, he's the damn fool that barged in here to get in her face. That shit doesn't fly with me, I don't give a damn who you are."
"You're nothing but hired help, and that's all there is to it!" shouted Rhys as he tried to wipe the blood away from his lips.
"Hired help or not, we get the fuckin' job done," snarled Hancock. "Can't say the same about your useless ass."
Rhys tried to go for Hancock again and the quarreling pair exchanged a few hits over the shoulders of Betty and Danse.
Betty grabbed the shoulder of Hancock's coat and backed her ghoul against the desk before she whispered, "This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I thought of diplomatic."
"Fuck politics, I'll kill that asshole."
"Not today, handsome," she whispered into his ear and it was enough to soften a bit of his rage.
Hancock scoffed and said, "Gonna hold ya to that one day soon."
"Rhys, you'll have to try to get along with General Parker until her business with us concludes, am I understood?" Danse asked the soldier. Rhys nodded and the paladin turned to Betty. "I don't like being lied to."
"No one lied to you. Hancock is the leader of a lawless town and the power armor? I just wore that shit for two days straight in the Glowing Sea, and couldn't stand to be in it for another second. He wore it instead until we get back to my base. Is there going to be a problem now, or do you still need help?"
"We do not work with ghouls," Danse answered in a flat voice, "Even ones who manage to name themselves."
Hancock picked up his pack and shotgun before he pulled at Betty's wrist and said, "C'mon, Birdie, they're a lost cause. They wanna die here, we should let 'em."
Betty pulled out of Hancock's grasp and she looked Danse in the eye as she explained, "I'm not sure if you noticed but one, your squad here is screwed unless you get some decent help and two, I'm pretty sure the entirety of the Commonwealth isn't happy that your fellow soldiers and that gaudy balloon of yours came floating in to play hero. You want a shot at making peace? We're your best bet."
Danse was silent for a few moments before he replied, "The ghoul can come, as long as it stays away from me and you can assure it's under your control."
"Don't flatter yourself crew cut, you're not my type," muttered Hancock. He reached behind the power armor and pulled out the fusion core before he stuffed it into the bottom of his knapsack. Neither he nor Betty needed power armor to show these idiots what they were capable of.
"What's your type? Dead and bloated?" asked Rhys with a sneer.
"Why, you interested?" Hancock chuckled to himself and nodded towards Betty with a smug grin. "I prefer softer skin..and a killer rack."
Betty smiled and said, "We're ready when you are, Danse."
The paladin led the pair into the lobby and grabbed his helmet, flipping it in one hand before he clamped it onto his armor. "Follow me...and try not to lag behind."
Danse led Betty and Hancock through an alley beside the police station, mentioning that Arc-Jet Systems was only a short hike to the west. He spoke at length about how important this transmitter was that they were searching for, but Betty's mind was elsewhere and she paid him no attention at first.
"Must be near Graygarden. We should pick up later; I think we smoked all we had left our last night in the Sea," said Betty with a smirk as Hancock wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"This road should help us avoid the large packs of ferals infesting Cambridge," said Danse.
Hancock shook his head and said, "They used to be people, you know. And why stay in a place overrun with 'em? A normal person would just, I dunno, leave? Not that fuckin' difficult.."
The paladin remained silent and Betty rolled her eyes before she asked in a flat voice, "Why are you still at the station if it was getting too dangerous?"
"If it was up to me, I'd relocate my team but Scribe Haylen detected some disturbing energy readings in the area that need to be investigated," Danse explained to her. "We don't know much about them except that they're short-lived and broadcast on a frequency only obtained with a high level of technology. We're concerned that whoever...or whatever is creating those energy readings might be a potential threat, so it's our job to investigate."
Her stomach dropped and Hancock whispered in her ear, "Let's kill 'em right now, before they find out-"
-She shook her head and reached by her shoulder to hold Hancock's hand, examining his torn, bloody knuckles before planting a kiss onto his palm. "You sure gave him hell over some lip. How very dashing of you."
"I'll take your appreciation in blowjob form later," he replied without missing a beat and Betty laughed into the sleeve of his drifter coat.
Danse turned and pointed his laser rifle at Hancock, "That's not how you talk to women, ghoul."
"It's how I talk to my woman, so quit cockblockin' me and fuck off!" Hancock snapped.
The paladin took a step toward Hancock and Betty popped up between them, a hand on either of their chests as she said, "Danse, you're overstepping. It's all right; Hancock and I are-"
"-You must be joking," scoffed Danse.
"Did you hear me fucking laugh?" she asked. Danse didn't answer her, a bit disgusted at the thought of a human and ghoul together. "If you drop the judgmental shit that has nothing to do with you or the Brotherhood, we can go get that transmitter your squad needs so badly. Stop being a damn prude and come on."
Hancock roared with laughter over his shoulder at the paladin as Betty took his hand and pulled him forward with her head held high. How Hancock dealt with this for over ten years, she had no idea. And Daisy, being pre-war, must be some sort of saint to take such abuse for over two centuries. This world certainly needed some help.
"Few raiders up ahead..you wanna or should I?" Hancock asked Betty as they came to a brief stop.
Danse stood almost ten feet behind the pair, and every time the soldier glanced at them, he shook his head with disappointment. General Parker was the most capable and impressive Commonwealth citizen he'd met so far during the recon mission, and the fact that she chose to not only partner with, but have relations with that thing...it made the paladin question her mental state.
Betty lifted her assault rifle to her shoulder and counted four raiders hanging around beneath a small overpass. Half a clip of explosive hell later, pieces of their bodies were strewn about and the trio sauntered past safely.
"How does the Brotherhood find the Commonwealth?" Betty asked over her shoulder, trying to make some sort of pleasant conversation.
To Hancock, it was all bullshit.
"It might surprise you to learn that my recon team isn't the first to visit the Commonwealth. Over the last seven years, two other teams were sent here by the Brotherhood to gather technology. The first team's mission was a huge success; they came back with crates full of pre-war artifacts and historical documents. Second team wasn't so fortunate. Shortly after they arrived, we lost contact and haven't heard from them since. As far as my team goes, we lost four good men to this godforsaken wasteland. We've been a target from the moment we arrived," the soldier explained.
"I'm sure it doesn't help that the Brotherhood isn't exactly the most...discreet organization," said Betty. "You know..with the giant, floating fortress."
Danse showed a hint of a smile and added, "Despite all our setbacks, I don't intend to give up and head home...or end up missing."
Hancock lit two cigarettes, handed one to Betty and with great mental effort, turned and held out the pack of smokes to Paladin Danse with a raised brow.
"No," said Danse. "Why would I purposely ingest poison?"
"Oh my fuckin' god," Hancock muttered under his breath. Why did he even bother? He and Danse would never see eye to eye on anything. A part of him was pissed that Betty got them roped into this mess, but he knew she meant well. It didn't help that she smiled up at him with those eyes of hers...god damn it.
Betty pat his arm and whispered, "That was a good try."
"Don't you patronize me-" he growled.
"-I wasn't." She kissed his cheek and suggested, "Danse might lighten up after he gets his hands on that transmitter thing. You never know...and at least he answered you directly this time."
"Hold on, lemme get a fuckin' parade goin' for our up and comin' lifelong friendship."
The Brotherhood soldier followed close behind and said in a low voice, "It's..around the bend here. There shouldn't be any exterior security, so we'll head in through the front."
The Arc Jet building seemed unimpressive and nothing out of the ordinary as Hancock looked around for defenses..he couldn't trust what that meathead had to say about the place. He opened the double doors for Betty, who curtsied before walking beneath his arm and followed after her, allowing the doors to slam shut in Danse's face.
The paladin burst through the doors, muttering under his breath. Arc Jet's lobby had seen better days; it appeared as if a mini nuke were set off inside with the way the furniture, papers, and machines were thrown about.
"It was corporations like this that put the last nail in the coffin for mankind. They exploited technology for their own gains, pocketing the cash and ignoring the damage they'd done. The military and soldiers were the worst of it, of course, pushing for even more technology to fight with," said Danse, breaking the brief silence as he walked about the room.
Betty stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the back of Danse's power armor. It took every bit of strength she had to not shoot the paladin in the back of the head. Instead she curled her fists and brushed past the soldier, knocking him into a doorway as she went down the hallway on her own.
Paladin Danse didn't understand why Parker seemed upset at his comment, until the ghoul spoke up and said, "She's pre-war, asshole. Frozen in a fuckin' vault with her family after the bombs fell."
"We have no records of a vault within the Commonwealth using cryogenics-" Danse began to say.
"-Vault 111, check it out. Surprised ya didn't hear about it on the radio; Travis talks about us a helluva lot. Her late husband was murdered in said vault..and he was a military boy too, so you struck her twice." Hancock walked up to Danse and only a foot a space remained between them when he added, "Normally, I'd carve you up real nice for such low blows, but you're just some ignorant fuckin' prick and it'll only serve to upset her more."
"How was I supposed to know?" Danse asked.
Hancock laughed and answered, "Man, you don't know shit about anyone or anything here! You really think that some 'research' and lootin' is gonna tell ya how life is for us? The Commonwealth ain't perfect, but we were doin' all right before you armor jockeys showed up to try and boss us around. We don't need the Brotherhood..Betty is who we need. And mark my words, when all this shit blows over, General Betty Parker will be better known as the First Lady of the Commonwealth."
The Brotherhood soldier didn't know what to make of this particular ghoul. It was violent, unstable, crass, and rude as Danse expected of a sentient ghoul. What he didn't expect was the hint of softness to the ghoul's raspy voice when it spoke about Parker. The way it beamed back at her whenever she smiled. The protective streak. It was almost human..
"...I should apologize, then."
"Yeah, you should. Now get the fuck outta my way," Hancock said before he went down the hall after his girl.
Betty sat behind a metal desk in a room filled with ruined and shattered protectrons as she stared blankly at a terminal. Nate wasn't a monster. It was Nate who demanded of his commanding officers that POWs be treated humanly and with dignity. He always tried to convince the enemy to surrender before firing upon them. War was ugly, that she knew, but Nate didn't have a cruel bone in his body.
"Whoa, Danse really pissed you off...knew I should've cut his ass," said Hancock as he stepped into the remains of the protectron massacre.
"I can't take any credit," she said, resting her chin on her hand. "Was like this when I came in. But thanks for not cutting him."
Hancock kissed the top of her head and asked, "You okay, sunshine?"
"I just want to get this over with now..I should've listened to you."
"Not your fault we're surrounded by morons."
"I heard that, ghoul," said Danse as he entered the room.
Hancock grunted and replied, "Good. Least you're not deaf AND dumb as shit."
The paladin grit his teeth as he bit back his insult; doing so wouldn't help his situation with Parker. The Brotherhood could use a soldier like her, especially one with as much influence as the ghoul claims she has.
"Parker..I apologize for my comment about pre-war military earlier. I had no idea until the ghoul told me. I'm sorry about your loss," said Danse as he lowered his head.
Betty looked at Hancock with tired eyes and asked, "I think he meant it. You?"
Her partner nodded and Betty held out her fist to Danse, who returned the gesture and bumped her knuckles with a grin.
"Oh," Betty added as she stood up, "That's his town's custom, by the way. All the heathen ghouls and ghoul lovers do it."
"Sorry Danse," said Hancock. "You might as well have sucked me off."
The paladin pulled his hand back in horror and dry heaved by the doorway as Hancock sank to his knees, overcome with laughter and he buried his face on Betty's hip. She rested her hand on Hancock's shoulder and laughed herself until she was red in the face.
"Serves you right. You were acting like an ass back there," said Betty and Hancock laughed again.
Danse let out a sharp breath and looked over the room once again. "Well, the facility's automated security's has already been dealt with."
"Good, less security to get in the way," said Hancock.
"Negative. There's nothing good about it. Look at the evidence. Not a single spent ammunition casing or drop of blood in sight. These robots were assaulted by Institute synths."
"We'll be on the lookout, captain," said Hancock with a roll of his eyes.
"It's paladin," said Danse.
"Whatever, man."
The trio walked down a set of hallways, the small rooms and offices leading off from them having been raided long ago. Hopefully, the transmitter remained. They came to a halt in a large, bright room with a set of doors that were locked tight.
"Looks like a dead end," said Danse as he pulled on one of the handles. "See if you can find a way to get these doors open. I'm going to reconnoiter the area."
Hancock dropped his knapsack by Betty's boots as she studied the lock and sifted through the pack until she found her screwdriver.
"Can ya pick it?" he asked Betty. She carefully stuck a bobby pin from her hair into the lock and fell back with a yelp when she was zapped by a short surge of power. "Jesus, you all right?"
"Can't-" Betty coughed, a bit of wind knocked from her lungs and she managed to say, "pick it, but I'm totally fine."
Danse walked over to her and took her chin in his hand to check her pulse beneath her neck before he said, "She'll be all right. Heart rate's already going down."
When he and Hancock met eyes, the ghoul pulled a combat knife from his belt and dragged the honed edge along the skin of his throat. Danse held his stare but understood the ghoul's message: Touch her again and there'd be Hell to pay.
Betty staggered to her feet and leaned against the locked set of doors. "John?" she asked. "Check those terminals for me, please? One of them must unlock this."
Hancock tapped a few keys on a terminal at the center of the room and the screen lit up. "Askin' for a password, shit.." and he began to rifle through the few drawers in the desk. "Maybe this guy was stupid enough to write it down somewhere."
"I'll check this one," she said as she walked over to another terminal against the wall. "Here, I can make a new password."
"Read it off to me, Birdie."
"All right, all uppercase: B-O-O-T," she barked out a laugh and said, "Y."
"Are you for real?"
"I'm serious, that's the password!"
Hancock chuckled and tapped the enter key. "Heh, awesome."
Danse nodded and said, "Nice work, let's get mov- synth ambush! Light 'em up!"
The metal doors slid open and a sizable group of synths flooded into the room, almost too overwhelming for three wastelanders.
"Our fuckin' pleasure!" Hancock shouted with a feral grin. He grabbed a synth by the wrist and twisted himself and its arm behind it before he forced its laser pistol on several of its fellow cohorts. When the gun ran out of ammunition, the ghoul yanked downward and hip-shot the synth in the head with his magnum.
Danse took on three synth patrollers at once, his laser rifle hot and deadly. There was no doubt the paladin was a formidable soldier on the battlefield. He threw a synth on its back before he stomped down on its metal rib-cage with a sickening crunch of his armored boot.
Betty climbed onto a desk and aimed for any stragglers going in for a kill on Hancock or Danse. Every shot of her assault rifle sent wave after wave of fiery heat and the sound of all the discord was deafeningly loud.
"Force them back!" she shouted over the roar of bullets and laser beams.
The synths were pushed back into a small generator room, where a gap in one of the walls still crumbled with just-disturbed dust.
One of Betty's shots singed the sleeve of Hancock's dark coat and he waved her ahead. "Go get 'em, Killer! Go! Go!" He swatted at her rear as she ran ahead. Danse closed his eyes with a wince and Hancock said, "Man, you need to get laid..Or take that stick outta your ass. Whatever's easier...so I'd go with the stick in your case."
"You're disgusting," said Danse as he took aim for a synth on the second floor of the next room.
"Definitely the stick."
Hancock charged after Betty, who was in the midst of a shootout with several synths on the second floor, pinned into a corner. He shouldered through the group of synths and shoved two synth patrollers onto the lower floor, where Danse finished them off. The ghoul followed with three shots of his .44 and he held out his hand to his girl.
"How the hell do you always find yourself in these tough spots?" Hancock asked Betty as he pulled her to her feet, brushing some of the dust off her legs.
"I was doing fine," she replied. "You just like playing hero."
Hancock laughed and Danse waved them over. The pair followed the soldier up a few flights of stairs before he checked around a corner of a new set of hallways and said, "Remain vigilant. We've got turrets up ahead."
Betty reached into several pockets on Hancock's drifter coat before she wrapped her hand around what she'd been searching for. She pulled the pin from a pulse grenade and lobbed it down the hall, stunning the turrets and allowing Danse to pick them off with ease.
The pair continued to follow the soldier through the building and Danse said over his shoulder, "Engine core's up ahead. Should be our last stop."
The area leading up to the engine core room was dark from lack of power and Betty tripped over a few broken tiles. Hancock, having just finished off a Jet inhaler, was able to grab the back of Betty's coat before she fell forward. And this time, he kept a firm grip on her hand.
"Look at this place!" Betty whispered in awe as the trio entered the engine core with a gargantuan rocket engine hung over the center of the room. She walked out onto a platform and reached out to touch the engine before Hancock pulled her back and shook his head.
"Our scribes would have a field day here," Danse replied as he looked around. "The transmitter should be in the control room at the top of the core but it looks like the elevators are dead. "We'll have to keep heading down for now and find a way to get the facility's power back online."
Betty switched on the light to her Pip-boy, but the light only reached maybe a foot beyond her in any direction. She glanced at Hancock and asked, "Can you see better in the dark? I can't believe I never asked you that."
He shook his head. "Vision stayed the same, unfortunately."
"There has to be a power backup system somewhere. Scout the maintenance area off the main chamber, Parker...the ghoul can go with you," said Danse. "I'll remain here and watch our backs."
Hancock followed Betty down a short hallway to the maintanence room and muttered under his breath, "Hope you get fuckin' shot.."
"John!" she whispered in a sharp voice and he grinned, not at all remorseful over his commentary.
Betty located a terminal with minimum power to it within the maintanence room and hacked into the system with relative ease.
"You'd think these eggheads would choose a better password considerin' there's a fucking rocket engine in there," said Hancock over her shoulder.
She chuckled as the Arc-Jet mainframe announced, Engine core power restored. Thermal engine fueled, primed, and standing by for your command.
The ghoul kissed his girl and told her, "You're the hottest brain I know."
Gunshots rang out from the central chamber and the pair stared at each other for a moment before running out into the lower control room. In the central chamber, Paladin Danse was overrun by a wave of synths.
Hancock pulled at the doors but they were shut tight. He beat at the door lock with the butt of his shotgun and shouted, "We're comin' for ya, tin can! Hang on! Birdie, the god damn door's locked!"
"Do something, anything at all!" Danse shouted through the pane of glass separating them. A synth grabbed the paladin's head and smashed it against the glass, cracking it, and Betty screamed.
She looked about the room in a panic and her eyes fell upon the engine power button...for the rocket engine above Danse.
"I sure hope you're fireproof!" Betty yelled.
Danse slammed his fist into a synth and screamed, "Do it!
Betty's fist came down on the power button and a five second countdown began as Hancock broke through the first door.
Command accepted, announced the mainframe. Commencing five second countdown...
"John, get him!" Betty pleaded.
5...4...
Hancock rushed into the hall and pulled on the door to the central chamber, only to find it locked as well.
3...2...
"Fuckin' shit!" shouted Hancock. He rammed the butt of his shotgun into the window several times. "Danse!"
1...engine firing.
The countdown ended and the rocket engine roared with flames as hot and bright as the sun itself, engulfing the room and shattering the windows of the door, forcing Hancock to duck. The ghoul staggered back into the control room and pulled a shocked Betty away from the window there. The window blew out with a deafening shatter, sending huge shards of glass flying across the room.
Within a few seconds, the rocket died and the door to the main chamber opened with a loud click. Test firing complete with an efficiency rating of 96.7 percent.
Betty and Hancock burst in to find Danse on his hands and knees. The ghoul made it to the Brotherhood soldier first and tore off Danse's helmet, the steel scalding his hands.
"Oh my god, are you all right?!" Betty cried.
"Got..." Danse coughed a few times, "cooked by those flames, but thanks to my...power armor I'm still in one piece. The important thing is that we're still alive...and we have a way to get to the transmitter."
Hancock clapped Danse's shoulder and said, "Whew..that was fuckin' wild! Thought we lost ya!"
"The Brotherhood of Steel is tougher than that, ghoul," said Danse.
Hancock handed Danse his helmet back and said in earnest, "That was all you, man. Not the Brotherhood, you feel me?"
The trio took the elevator to the top of the chamber and were met by more synths inside of the main control room. Danse provided cover fire as Betty and Hancock annihilated any synths withing their reach.
The synth leader focused on Hancock and rushed him, but when the ghoul took aim the trigger wouldn't shoot, and the synth leader threw him back against a wall. Betty called out his name and tossed him her assault rifle over a railing before she ducked behind a set of filing cabinets, and Hancock opened fire.
"Danse!" he shouted over the noise. "Cover Betty!"
The Brotherhood solider stomped towards General Parker and he and the ghoul finished off what remained of the attacking synths.
"Damn it," said Danse. "I don't see the device anywhere."
"Maybe one of the synths grabbed it as we came in?" Betty suggested as she peeked out from behind the filing cabinets. Several bullet holes peppered the cold metal around her and she realized that she was a hair closer to death than she had believed.
As the room settled, Hancock shoved the paladin out of the way and shouted at Betty, "You gotta a deathwish or somethin', passin' me your rifle in the middle of a fight?"
"You needed a gun!" she shouted back, her hands on her hips.
Hancock held up his .44 magnum and asked, "What the hell do you call this?"
"That synth was way stronger than the others! He fucking threw you! And you thought I would just stand there and think, 'Yeah, John's fine, that synth is totally not going to beat his head in'?"
"And how many god damn times have I fuckin' asked ya not to worry about me?"
"I already lost Nate, I won't lose you, too!" she shouted, her chest heaving. She pointed to the broken synths and said, "And I've had enough of those assholes taking the people I love away from me!"
The control room fell to a quiet standstill. Danse checked the broken, lifeless synth bodies and found the transmitter tucked behind a desk at the room's center, where most of the synths had gathered. He was a bit bewildered at hearing that Parker was in love with the ghoul, and wondered if the ghoul was capable of reciprocating such feelings. Even Danse himself had never been in love, for the Brotherhood was the only thing he cared for.
"..You're right, love" Hancock replied, his voice softer than before. He pulled her into his arms and murmured into her hair, "I'm sorry I didn't realize that sooner."
Betty looked over at Danse and asked him, "Did you find your transmitter?"
The paladin held up the small, gray box and said, "Got it right here. Come on, we can take the service elevator back to the surface."
Outside, night began to settle down in the Commonwealth, and the moon was coming over the horizon, full and white. Betty held Hancock's hand tight as they followed Danse away from Arc-Jet.
"Well," said the paladin over his shoulder, "that could have gone smoother, but mission accomplished. It is a refreshing change to work with capable civilians. That being said, we have two important matters to discuss."
"Oh?" Betty asked. "And what would those matters be?"
"Firstly, I'd like to compensate you for your assistance during this operation. Since you are now short a weapon, I think you'll find this one useful. It's my own personal modification of the standard Brotherhood laser rifle. May it serve you well in battle," explained Danse as he handed Betty his laser rifle along with a box of fusion cells.
"I can't take this," said Betty. "Payment isn't necessary, we just wanted to help out and maybe show you that the Commonwealth isn't as hopeless as you previously thought."
The paladin smiled warmly and replied, "I insist you keep it."
She and Hancock stared at Paladin Danse, stunned with his show of generosity.
"Now...as far as the second matter goes, I wanted to make you a proposal. We had a lot thrown at us back there. Our op could have ended in disaster, but you kept your cool and handled it like a soldier." Danse looked at Hancock and added, "And for a rotting, walking corpse, your skills were impressive as well. I was not aware a ghoul could be gifted at anything."
"Maybe rethink the whole, 'shoot first, ask questions later' wit regards to my kind," said Hancock.
Danse looked back to Betty and said, "There's no doubt in my mind that you have what it takes. Join the Brotherhood of Steel and make your mark on this world, Parker. What do you say?"
"Oh, you're takin' ghoul fuckers into your little club now? How very progressive of you," said Hancock.
The paladin grimaced and said to Betty, "I'd advise Parker to keep that information to herself, unless she enjoys being ostracized and if you insist on following her, I need your word that you will behave appropriately..for Parker's well-being."
"No promises," said Hancock with a smirk.
"I have obligations here in the Commonwealth that need my attention, my settlements and I'm still searching for a few people. Will the Brotherhood be all right with that?" Betty asked. Danse nodded and she said, "If you can assure me that your brethren won't shoot Hancock on sight-"
"-As I stated to the ghoul, as long as his behavior is proper, he will not be harmed while he remains in your company."
Betty smiled. "All right. I'm in."