Chance

Chapter 2: Something Different

Roulette entered Goodneighbor's Third Rail with and easy confidence. The city was rough, and often thought of as a sort of safe-haven for the dealers and mercs of the Commonwealth by many. That wasn't a problem to her, though. Where there were dealers and mercs, there was bound to be work for her.

She met with the man who had employed her, and worked out his fee for her work. After collecting the payment, the young woman made her way to the back, lounge-like area of the establishment, picking up a Nuka-Cherry as she went by the bar.

The back area of the bar was mostly empty, and quieter than the front, with the voices of patrons being muffled by the walls. The pink-tinged lighting gave the area a warmer, somewhat more welcoming air than the dimer white lights of the front bar. Worn red chairs and sofas dotted the perimeter of the room, pushed against the tile which covered the wall from the floor to about half-way up.

Roulette situated herself on one of the sofas, lounging a bit as she popped the cap off of her Nuka, and pocketed the metal disk. She took a sip from the mouth of the bottle, and the sugary, cherry-flavored drink ran across her dry tongue and down her parched throat. It wasn't ice cold, but it was cooler than she'd expected.

The girl looked around the room, noting the young man in one of the red armchairs not too far away. He seemed to take notice of this, as he looked her way and gave a silent nod in greeting. Roulette returned the gesture, giving a small not and slight wave in response. A silent moment passed, seeming heavy and almost awkward, now that the pair had made contact with one another. The silence was eventually broken by, of all things, a hiccup from Roulette, as she swallowed another sip from her Nuka-Cherry wrong.

A chuckle came from the young man, "What the heck was that?" he questioned, somewhat jokingly.

"Probably an invitation to break the awkward silence," Roulette joked. "Or the fact that I can't swallow right half the time," she then added, in a deadpan sort of manner.

The stranger chuckled. "Looking for someone to do a job for ya?" he asked.

"Looking for a job, actually," she replied.

"A kid like you?"

"You're one to talk. You look like you're barely even twenty."

"Coming from the one who looks barely old enough to wander the wastes alone. And I'll have you know, I'm twenty-two."

"Eighteen. And you could've fooled me."

The exchange ended abruptly, and a silent moment went by. The silence didn't last long, though, before the pair burst out laughing. Roulette took another sip of her Nuka-Cherry as they settled down. After several moments, the pair had pulled themselves together.

"I'm MacCready, by the way," the young man clarified, offering out his hand.

"I go by Roulette," came the girl's reply, taking the man's outstretched hand in a firm handshake.

"So, you're in between jobs, huh?" MacCready questioned.

"Yeah, you?" Roulette answered.

"In between, myself. Just got off a pretty tough job, so I'm thinking of taking some time for myself, probably just go around the Commonwealth for a bit."

"I just got back from a job out in Far Harbor. Think I might stay in town a day or two, then head out to Nuka World."

"Nuka World? You know that place is filled with raiders, right?"

"Doesn't scare me."

"Are you fu- freaking crazy?"

"I've held my own against raiders and Gunners since I was thirteen. I'll be fine."

"A kid really shouldn't go out there alone."

"If you're that worried about a person you just met, then you're welcome to come along. Can't promise you'll get anything out of it, but I wouldn't mind the company."

MacCready was quiet for a moment. Had this kid just opened the door for him to join her in going to a raider-infested, pre-war amusement park? He didn't even know why she was going there, for all he knew, she could be suicidal, or flat-out insane, or even both, come to think of it.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to go along," he stated, with a bit of a shrug.

Roulette chuckled a bit, offering her hand to MacCready, "I guess we'll be meeting up in a couple of days, then."

"I guess so," MacCready agreed, shaking her hand.

The pair sat in a now fairly comfortable silence. Roulette finished off her Nuka-Cherry, and eventually left. She went off to rent a room for the next couple of nights. As usual, the young woman haggled over the price of the room, only to bring the price down just fifty caps. Still, it was fifty caps that would stay in her pocket to go towards other things.

The time between MacCready and Roulette first meeting and their departure was fairly uneventful. Both simply went about their own business, which mostly involved preparing for the journey ahead. Purchasing ammunition, medical supplies, purified water, ensuring that their weapons were clean and functional, and making sure their armor was strong enough to protect them if needed, (at least in Roulette's case).

As they went about their preparations, both Roulette and MacCready had different concerns and questions about what may come their way on their journey.

For MacCready, questions concerning what he'd just gotten himself into buzzed in his mind. Why had he agreed to go? What was so important that a kid would go to Nuka World of all places? Why did he see someone four years younger than himself as a kid? And most importantly, why did he care about what happened to her?

In Roulette's mind, there were few concerns about the trek ahead. She'd made the trip a handful of times before, and never had too many issues. Her concerns lay with the man who she'd more-or-less employed as her companion. He'd known her for barely ten minutes, and he was concerned about her safety. Why did this guy care? If he was so scared about going to Nuka World, why would he even bother going? The guy didn't even know why she was going. Besides, he was only four years older than herself, barely enough to command authority, as far as she was concerned. The question just kept nagging at her in the back of her mind; Why did this stranger care about what happened to her?

To both of them, one thing was certain. The coming trip to Nuka World was certainly going to be something different for both of them.