Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fallout 4 or it's characters. The Fallout series belongs to Bethesda. This is a nonprofit fanfiction written purely for enjoyment. Enjoy.

Act I - All-American Nightmare

Chapter IV

Cait awoke covered in a cold sweat. She wasn't sure if it was a nightmare awoke her, or the voices coming from outside her window. Strands of red hair were plastered to the sides of her head by sweat. Her clothes clung to her body like a second skin. Pain surged through her body as she attempted to sit up. To her surprise her arm was in a sling. Memories flood into her mind, and suddenly she was back in the Combat Zone. Broken, bloody and on her last leg. She attempted to take the fight back from Abel Cohan, but he snapped her arm as punishment for her dirty fighting. Cait remained on the cot, staring at the ceiling while she wallowed in her own self-pity and listened to the voices outside.

"You do realize having them call me 'General' doesn't make me a general," Abel sighed in visible annoyance.

"I know," confirmed Preston. "But it gives them hope."

"How has she been?" It was Abel's attempt to change that subject. It worked, for now.

"In and out all week," reported Preston. "What did you say happened to her again?"

Abel turned away from Preston. "I didn't," with that Abel closed the door behind him. The audible sound of the door locking behind him kept Preston from badgering him for the time being.

"Morning," greeted MacCready from the couch. His rifle was displayed on the table, disassembled at the moment. He was cleaning it, preventing it from jamming in the field. "General," said MacCready with a mischievious grin.

Abel held his hand up in protest. "Don't start, please," it was too early in the morning to be dealing with everyone's antics.

Before either of them could respond MacCready leapt to his feet, pulling his pistol from it's holster. Abel turned around to see a wounded Cait lingering in the hallway. Trying to diffuse the situation, Abel brought up his hand to MacCready, letting him know to stand down.

"Where am I?" Cait found her lips chapped, and her throat hoarse.

"Sanctuary Hills," offered MacCready, holstering his firearm.

Her head swirled with questions. She had so many questions, but Cait didn't know which ones to ask first.

"Did...Did you buy me?" A defeated Cait averted her eyes to the floor.

"Yeah," Abel didn't beat around the bush. In situations like this he found honesty was the best answer. "Yes I did."

In that moment Cait realized she was at the mercy of the two men in front of her, and it was a well-known fact that mercy was a rare commodity in the Commonwealth. At her best, even with all of her advantages she couldn't defeat Abel Cohan. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, but she did the best not to show it. "What are you going to do with me, Master?" A broken Cait asked. She was like a computer, reverting back to an old saved file. Cait wasn't obvlious to the fact that she was momentarily handicapped. She was going to have to play him instead, and escape when they weren't looking.

"Uhm, nothing?" A confused Abel responded.

"What?" An equally confused Cait asked.

Abel pointed to the door. "There's the door, you're free to go."

"Are you toying with me?" The Irish woman asked, annoyance as thick as her accent. "Is this how you get off?"

Abel turned to MacCready for support but he had none to offer. Cait continued.

"Who buys a slave just to let them free?"

MacCready saw his opportunity to help, and jumped in. "Technically he didn't buy you, you were given to him."

Even Abel could recognize somehow that was worse. Before he could chide MacCready for not helping Cait's sorrow turned to anger.

"That bastard just gave me away?! I'm not even worth the dirt beneath our feet?" Cait could feel the anger radiating off her skin. After all the money she made for the Combat Zone she wasn't even worth some kind of payment? She silently promised to ring his melted neck if they ever crossed paths.

"I don't believe in slavery," explained Abel. "You're free to go."

Somehow this didn't dissipate the redhead's anger, either. "Well aren't you special?" She mocked. "You're just going to kick a lass out on her ass when her arm is broken?"

There were no words in the English language to explain how confused Abel Cohan was. First he was pretty sure that she thought he was going to take advantage her, and now she was mad that she was free to go.

"You know what," Abel started towards the door. "I have somewhere to be. You can stay here until your arms healed, or you can be gone before I get back. I don't care," The door slammed behind the copper-haired man. An awkward MacCready wasn't far behind.

"You have a play?" MacCready ran to catch up with Abel.

Abel nodded, happy to be away from his own house for the moment. "I've got an in with Piper Wright, I just have to gain Valentine's trust now."

Her freshly brewed hot coffee fell to the floor, shattering to pieces upon impact. Piper Wright had just come face-to-face with who the raiders were calling "Gas Mask Man", in her own home. She almost didn't see the figure when she initially walked into her own bedroom, but he was unmistakable even in the low light of the night.

"Don't," warned the man behind the gas mask. His threat was vague, it could translate to anything. Don't run, don't scream, don't do anything. The moonlight shimmied it's way in-between the grime on the windows, it reflected well off of the firearm in his hand. Now that her eyes adjusted to the low light she could make out more of his attire. A green gas mask masked his identity. Pre-War army fatigues fit to his body under a thick combat chest plate. Matching pauldrons adorned either shoulder.

This was the very fear Piper had that almost made her not write the intial article. It was a sick nightmare that sprang to life in her own bedroom. She gulped, awaiting for her command.

A motion with the gun meant he wanted her to take the seat at her desk, the one she sat at when she wrote all those articles about him. Was he going to kill her here? Was this some kind of perverted irony, a joke that she couldn't understand because she was too close to the situation?

Sitting on command made Piper feel like a trained dog, but she did it none-the-less. She awaited her next orders with a heavy heart. He was placed behind her, she couldn't see what he was up to.

"Take your gun from your coat," instructed the home invader. He spoke slow so that there wouldn't be any miscommunication. "Slowly, place it on the desk."

Only moments after doing what she was told a soft knock rapped at her door. The elder Wright could feel her heart being pulled into her stomach, anything but that. She would do anything to have her younger sister spared this situation.

"Send her away," Gas Mask instructed in a low, but firm tone. What she could only assume was a barrel of a gun was placed against her spine for extra incentive. He was so close now she could smell the harsh smell of his cheap cologne infused with the heavy scent of gunpowder.

Even with a barrel tapped against her spine Piper managed to find relief. Anything was better than having her younger sister punished for her misdeeds.

The doorknob rattled slowly, but it echoed like thunder in the dark room. Much to her delight, the door was locked. "I heard a noise," the younger Wright finally spoke.

"I'm... Ok," Piper fought back tears. "I just dropped my coffee. Go back to bed, hun." She prayed to God, the Heavens, even to Atom that Nat wasn't old enough to understand the pain in her voice.

A few moments of silence stretched into infinity. "I'll go brew another pot," offered the younger sister. Sounds of footsteps moved away from door told them that they were alone again. Perfect timing, Piper couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She sobbed silently in front of her type writer.

"You need to stop writing about me. You're going to attract unwanted attention."

From where Piper was sitting it looked like that ship had sailed already.

"I'm not going to warn you again," The barrel retreated away from it's resting spot between Piper's shoulder blades.

"I already distributed tomorrow's paper," admitted a reluctant Piper. She almost didn't say anything but she didn't want to come back home the next day and to find him in their home again.

Silence filled the air again, and it was maddening for the reporter. Her head swam with all of possible outcomes. Was he going to be mad? Had she blown the one chance he had given her? Was he lining up the shot behind her?

"I'd go collect them if I were you," was all he said. The next sound was the familiar sound of her door unlocking.

Piper steeled her self for what was about to come next. If she had the time she would have downed some liquid courage first, but the fact of the matter was there wasn't enough time. In one quick effort Piper lunged for her gun, and spun. By the time the barrel was facing the door the home invader was already gone. She wasn't spooked enough to fire off a warning shot, there was a likely chance she could shoot her sister through the wooden door.

The sun would be up in a few hours, and she didn't feel safe in her own home anymore. Piper grabbed her younger sister and fled to the only person's house in Diamond City who she was sure wasn't the vigilante.

Hours had gone by since the breaking and entering of her home. In the middle of the night Piper Wright, with her younger sister, fled to Nick Valentine's Detective Agency. A surprised Ellie Perkins had let her in, but the detective in question was nowhere to be seen. A confused Nat had fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him to come home while Ellie and Piper recounted the incident over numerous pots of coffee. Eventually Ellie came down from her caffeine high and passed out as well, leaving a frantic Piper alone with her thoughts.

'What does a synth do in the middle of the night?' Piper continuously asked herself, each time ending with the conclusion that the vigilante must have gotten to him first. Though, he let Piper and Nat go. Would Nick be as lucky? Would Nick fight back?

Fear was a hell of a drug. It sowed paranoia in the deepest parts of her mind. Pretty soon every man in Diamond City had the potential to be the vigilante. Anyone of her neighbors that she saw daily could be the spree-killer she had been writing about.

The lock to the front door started to turn, pulling Piper back to reality. Piper wanted to hide, to get the drop on whoever was coming into the room in the event it was the vigilante coming to correct the mistake of letting them live, but it left the two sleeping girls in view. There wasn't enough time to wake them, either. So instead Piper put her body in-between the girls and the door and welcomed whoever was coming in with the sight of her muzzle.

Nick Valentine opened the door to find himself staring down the barrel of .ten millimeter. "Woah," Nick held his hands up in defense.

Piper shouldn't have been as surprised as she was, his name was on the front of the building after all. A long stressful night left her nerves fried. A heavy gasp escaped her lips, realizing who it was she holstered the gun.

"What in Sam's Hell has gotten into you?" Nick asked, almost offended-like.

"He was here," Piper started to talk fast. To the others she seemed delirious. "Not here. In my house. He came in my house. I saw him Nick! Jesus Nicky, he was in my house!"

"Slow down," The synth instructed. "Who was in your house?"

Piper tried taking a deep breath to calm herself. It didn't help. The sight of Abel Cohan's face behind the detective didn't help either.

"You!" Piper called out. The little adrenaline left in her body started to surge all at once through her veins upon sight.

Abel pointed to himself, dumbfound. "Me?" He asked in a puzzled voice.

The scene that played out in Nick's living room had woken up Ellie, and threatened to wake up Nat if it continued to go on the way it did. This was of little consequence to Piper. She stomped past Nick, practically pushing him out of the way to come face-to-face with Abel. "You're the vigilante, I know it must be you." With the help of her new freak strength, Piper put either hand on the collar of Abel's vault suit and pushed against the nearby wall.

"I'm not trying to kink shame you or anything, but this is really bad foreplay," Abel joked nervously. The reporter currently throttling him was right, Abel was the vigilante in question but she came to the conclusion the wrong way.

Even with his lack of gathered intelligence on the particular situation, Nick appeared by his friends side like a voice of reason. "I don't know what's going on, but this isn't what you think it is."

Piper pushed the words of her friend to the back of her mind. She didn't believe what Nick was saying, Piper didn't want to believe it. If Nick was right, anyone in Diamond City who wasn't in that room could be the guy who broke into her house. "It's him, I can't believe I didn't see it before."

Abel remained silent, waiting to see how the situation played out.

"He's been with me since yesterday," Nick finally offered.

Piper inhaled as her final test, the one last thing to guarantee that he wasn't who she thought he was. The overpowering scent of gunpowder was evident like before, but the lack of knock-off cologne made her realize it really wasn't him.

"Again, not kink-"

"Shut up," Nick and Piper barked in unison.

"Ok," he grumbled, but his face said 'wow rude'.

Nick could see the conflict on her face. She wanted him to be the vigilante really bad. It didn't need to be true, she just wanted the fear to go away. Putting a face to her fears, reminding her that whoever this killing machine was, he was only a man.

"He's been with me since yesterday morning," Nick clarified. Any doubts of Abel being the vigilante had dissipated. Abel's name wasn't high on the list, but being a newcomer in town only shortly after this crusade started was suspicious. "Skinny Malone got the drop on me in the vault. I don't know if I would have made it out with him." What Nick wasn't admitting was this only increased Abel's of being the vigilante chances in his mind. The way Abel tore through the bad guys to help Nick reminded him of a one-man army. Since it was no longer the working theory, Nick kept it to himself, a secret meant for the detective alone.

Tears welled in the corners of Piper's eyes. She thought the situation could be over, that she was safe again. She froze in place, unsure of what to do. When would she feel security again?

"Let's get you home," offered Abel in his sincerest voice.

Piper turned to check on her sister who was still asleep on the couch. She wanted to ask "What about Nat?" But the words didn't form in her throat.

"I'll look after her until she wakes up," promised Ellie.

"I'll be here too," Nick added in.

Piper wiped her tears away before they had a chance to fully form. The only response she could muster in her sleep deprived state was a nod.

Abel stopped in the doorway, turning to face Nick. "Please, don't forget what I came to you about," His coffee brown eyes pleading with the detective.

"I'll look into it," promised Nick. Piper was too tired to ask questions at the time, probably for the first time in her life.

Only Nick and Abel knew it was that Abel had come to Nick to file a missing persons.

Only Abel knew that it was because he felt like he wasn't getting making enough progress as the vigilante.

With her consent, Abel walked her home. Being walked home brought her a surprising amount of comfort, however ironic, she didn't need to know that though.

Abel had her wait outside her own home as he swept through the rooms to make sure the vigilante hadn't come back while Piper was away. He knew didn't need to do that, it was for show, to make her feel better. While Piper was alone she scanned the area in with a suspicious bias. Everyone was a threat now, anyone whose eyes lingered too long could be connected.

A shaky sigh of relief passed through her lips as she entered her own home. Abel was coming down the stairs as Piper came in the house. There was a moment where Piper had her back to the open door, the early morning sunlight painting her like an artist mad with inspiration. It was right then and there Abel could feel something creeping up on him, something that he hadn't felt since he had woken up in that damned vault. Being a trained soldier, not a poet, Abel didn't know what to call it. All he knew was it was something other than feeling alone, or angry all the time. And he would be damned if he didn't say it felt good. For just a brief moment he saw Nora in the light. The door closed behind Piper and with it Nora. She was gone, again.

"Can you sit with me?" Piper's voice carried them out of the silence. She felt odd asking what was basically a stranger to accompany her, but it was better than nothing. He complied, taking a seat next to her on her bed. "Just until I fall asleep, please?" 'Do you hear yourself? You sound so desperate'. Her inner voice chastised herself. Though, if it bothered Abel he didn't show it.

Abel wore his stoic expression like a mask, a feat accomplished from years of experience in the Army. Behind the brick wall that was Abel Cohan were emotions that longed to get out. He wanted to tell Piper that she didn't have to worry, he was the vigilante and he was never going to let harm come to her but he would never compromise the mission, his son. She would have to find the truth out on her own, or simply wait. The conflicting emotions only steeled his resolve. Writing about the vigilante was dangerous. Whether the Commonwealth believed their gas-mask clad crusader was working in their best interest or not, no one could deny he was pissing off a lot of bad people. Her insight on the case might make it seem like she had answers and one day one of the wrong people might come knocking on Piper's door, and he couldn't allow that to happen. This was the best worst option, even if she couldn't see that.

Sometime during his brooding Piper had fallen asleep. To Abel she looked so vulnerable, fragile, but innocent. It reminded him what this crusade was for, that there were still people worth saving. Personal relationships and emotions would have to come second to the safety of the innocent. He almost felt bad leaving while she was so peacefully asleep, but not bad enough to stay.

MacCready was waiting just outside the edge of Diamond City when he met up with Abel, a green duffle bag slung over his shoulder. The sniper tossed the duffle bag in place of a greeting.

Abel quickly scooped it up, eagerly checking the contents of the bag. The assault gas mask sat atop of the rest of the 'costume'. Abel shoved the mask of the alter-ego to the bottom of the bag and zipped it up.

They left Diamond City together to head back to the Red Rocket, but there was an obvious tension in the air. Abel waited until Diamond City was far behind them before he asked his question.

"Do we have a problem, MacCready?"

He came to a full stop. "I'm all for this crusade your waging," There was a pause. He was searching for the right words to get his point across. "I actually feel like we're making a difference, and you're paying my way. If you want me to shoot a raider, just point."

Abel could feel a 'but' coming.

"But," and there it was. "Don't ask me to do that again."

"Ok."

To be honest MacCready didn't know what he was expecting but 'Ok' wasn't it. If there was any signs of anger or frustration with the sniper, he didn't show it. "Just ok?"

Abel nodded. "Just ok," MacCready looked like he was expecting to be terminated, either his employment or his life. Abel continued to put that suspicion to bed. "Like you said, this is my crusade. You are a hired gun, I won't forget what I'm paying you for if you don't." He began to walk again, with or or without the hired gun.

Feeling more at ease, MacCready went with him. "Did it work at least?"

"I don't think Piper Wright will be writing anymore, and if Nick suspected me before he shouldn't now. All we have to do is keep it public information that the vigilante works alone and he shouldn't have a reason to suspect me."

'Easier said than done', they both thought. It was a long, silent trip back. Neither of them were men of words, but of action. They were ok with that.

"I had a chance to dispose of Nick Valentine," Abel admitted when they were further enough away from Diamond City. "I opened the door he was locked behind, and on the way out he had his back turned to me. I had my weapon in hand. I could have emptied the clip in his back before he knew what hit him."

There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in his mind that Abel could have disposed of the only person who cared enough to stand in the way of the vigilante, he just wasn't sure why he was being told this. "But you didn't?" Not that MacCready disagreed with that outcome. He found that cowards tend to be the ones to shoot people in the back, literally.

"The Commonwealth needs good men like him, like you," Abel clarified. "I'm under no illusion that I'm the hero the Commonwealth wanted."

MacCready didn't completely agree or disagree with that statement either, but he didn't interrupt. It wasn't very common for Abel to initiate the conversation, MacCready didn't want to be personally responsible for him stopping either.

"I'm the one it deserves though," His tone was firm, solid like his convictions. "After this is over it can return to good men doing things, and it will need people to lead by example."

"I can drink to that," MacCready offered a sympathetic smile. He wasn't a fanatic like Abel, believing the crusade will simply fix the world but he did feel like he was making a difference and that's all that mattered to him. "If we willingly allow harm to come to innocents than all of this was for nothing."

"Exactly," Abel agreed. He took a chance on MacCready, uniting over their common dislike for the Gunners, but it seemed to an investment that paid off.

Being the gentleman that he was Nick Valentine escorted the younger Wright home when she awoke. He half expected Piper to still be crashed out in her bed, but instead he found Piper packing. Nat was just as surprised as Nick.

"Planning on taking a trip?"

"Nat and I are going to get out of here, just until I can feel safe again."

An uncomfortable pause filled the air. Nick couldn't tell if she was waiting for him to try to stop her, but he didn't even if that was what she wanted. Being a protector should come before all else. Nick was a firm believer in if innocent blood is willingly sacrificed for a goal then it wasn't a goal worth fighting for.

"Just comeback in one piece," offered Nick with a sympathetic smile. "Both of you," Much to his surprise his response warranted a hug from the reporter. Nick raised his hands to her back, as to gently pat her on the back. "Be safe out there."

Piper tightened her arms around the detective. "You do the same, ok?"

After ten minutes Nick found himself standing alone in Publick Occurrences, today's paper in hand. She fled because of the vigilante, but he wasn't naive enough to think it wasn't because of him. He brought her into the fold, this was on him. Having a friend and her sister threatened only strengthened his resolve. Nick Valentine was going to catch this guy, even if it was the last thing he ever did. The burden weigh heavy on his shoulders as he left the abandon house.

Diamond City was waking up to what was possibly Piper's last article about the vigilante on their doorsteps: "WRATH OF THE WAR-MACHINE by PIPER WRIGHT"

Author's Note: War-Machine came out way later than it meant to, but yeah. That's Abel's vigilante name. I know it already kind of belongs a Ironman knock off, but Marvel can kiss my ass (haha just kidding, please don't sue). Please, leave a review of what you thought about this chapter! Shout-out to everyone who left a review, favorited or followed! This story got so much support, and it is very appreciated. I'm sorry that it's taken a while to post these chapters. I'll try to get the ones out a little faster. Thank you for being patient. Solivore out!