She visited with Moriarty again, after talking to the blackguard. When the barman wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know, Lillie resorted to her back-up plan. She was reluctant to do that, being inside of a settlement, but...

Moriarty wasn't playing fair. Why should she?

"I don't think you understand the idea here, lass," the man said, shaking his head. "You pay me, I give you what you want. It's not that hard."

They were standing in the back room, his office, him with his hands on his hips and her acting as nervous as she could. To put him off guard, and spring her ambush.

"I get the idea," she muttered, watching him carefully. Almost...

"Oh, aye, and I'm getting my name on a statue somewhere―" he started, his attention momentarily away from her as he looked up at the ceiling. An "oh, Lord" look, and she capitalized on it.

Lillie immediately grabbed him by the back of his hair, slammed his face into the metal wall and held him there, producing a knife and jabbing him in the soft spot behind his ear. She angled the knife upward, pressing it into his skin just enough to draw a thin line of blood, her nails digging into his scalp.

His face was squished into the corrugated metal with a startled look. He recovered quickly enough, much to her dismay. Gave her a sharp glance and jammed his mouth shut. Realized he was in a bad position, and waited for his move.

"Do you know..." she said, tilting her face to stare at him with a measured smile, "just how much pressure is needed to puncture through the skull bone, Mr. Moriarty?" His face contorted under the pressure, his gray eyes glittering on hers. "I do. It's really not that much."

"God Almighty―" he snapped, moving his hands out on the wall.

Lillie pushed the knife into his skin, through the surface, compressing the lymph node directly underneath it. "I want to know what you meant," she told him. "About my dad trying to get into the Vault. That's all. If you yell, I'll be forced to terminate this conversation. I don't think you want me to do that."

"Shi―" He groaned as she wiggled the knife slowly. "Shite! Alright!"

She smiled. He was effectively intimidated. That was the idea. She waited a moment and let him sort himself out. Her grip didn't waver, but her eyes were blurred from a lack of sleep, and she needed to get this done and go find a safe place―

"Alright, lass, you win," he said, hands splayed out on the metal. "I'll tell you."

Lillie didn't move her hands away. "Let's hear it."

"Smart, aye, I knew I liked you." Moriarty cleared his throat. "Your Da came through about eighteen years ago, yeah? Had a wee babe with. Was from the East, heading west, said he'd been out at the tidal basin for a while. We had a drink to your long and happy life inside the Vault and he went off to get inside."

Lillie blinked back the wavering vision and clenched her teeth a little. "And then?"

"Ah, but he didn't get inside, did he? Went off northwest, according to what I heard." Moriarty grunted again, pressing his lips together.

"Northwest." Lillie spun the knife in a half-circle. "What's in the northwest?"

Moriarty grunted, tapping the wall with his fingers. "That wasn't part of the deal, lass," he strained out. "Fair's fair."

"You're right," she said, but kept her hands on him still.

"I'll give you that one for free, providin' you let me go, now." His eyes were still on her face, but now they were shining something other than anger back on her. "Not playin'."

"If you pull that pistol of yours on me," Lillie said, moving herself closer so she was breathing in his ear, "I'll have you know, I know which tendons stop you from ever making a fist."

"Think I like you too much to shoot you." Moriarty smiled in a contorted way. "I believe it. Be nice, lass?"

She moved her hands back at the same time, watching as he pried himself from the metal and brushed off his clothes. He chuckled, then stared at her for a moment with a funny look on his face. "...Northwest is Paradise Falls, and Arefu," he said. "Maybe some of those satellite stations out there might be worth looking into, but I've no idea where dear old dad was taking you."

Lillie stayed tense, waiting for him to break his word. "So we were never there," she muttered, feeling tears prickling at her eyes. She―

Oh, God, this changed... everything!

Why didn't her father tell her!? Why―Why did he let President Eden assume she was from the Vault? He'd lied! Just like Colonel Aut―she felt something breaking inside of her. She couldn't, anymore. Just couldn't.

Yet another lie. Lillie was done with the lies. Done. She raised her hand to her face, holding the knife up to her eyes, and sniffled, then gasped out a sob. It wasn't fair. No one ever―ever! Told her the truth.

"Ach, lass, that's a bad tack," Moriarty said, moving closer to her.

Lillie held her hand out and brandished the knife at him, half-heartedly, trying to stem the tears. "Don't," she said, as firmly as she could. "Just―" God, she was gonna get herself in trouble, if she didn't mind him.

"I appreciate a killer with a heart," Moriarty said. "You're a touch upset because the old man lied to you. We've all been lied to. It's life, lass."

"Everyone lies," she said, wiping her nose with her free hand and blinking furiously.

"Hurts worst when it comes from a loved one," he said, smiling with half his mouth at her. "Never cared much for my own old man, either. Feckless bastard that he was, he knew how to lie well."

Lillie sniffled again, and breathed out a little easier. "I―" she looked down and frowned. "I don't understand it," she whispered. "Doesn't make sense."

"No, it doesn't," he agreed, moving closer.

She... she was so tired. Everything in the wasteland was so draining, and now... this on top of that? Would it ever stop hurting, even for a moment?

Lillie closed her eyes just for a second and realized her mistake when a hand wrapped around hers, painfully disarming her and shoving her up against the wall in a reversal of what had happened.

"Right as I thought you were one of the smart ones," Moriarty said, his hand on her head and her knife in his hand. He put it up to her throat and sighed. "I hate being surprised."

Lillie didn't move for a moment. "I won't disappoint you, then," she said, and shortly he jerked backward in surprise as she produced another knife, this one hidden on her person for emergencies. She jabbed at his crotch as he moved away and spun on him, hitting him with the palm of her other hand and knocking him backward. The second combat knife came up and out, swiping at him but not connecting.

"Lord!" he yelled, stumbling backward. "Wily, love!"

"I didn't want to kill you, but you're making it hard not to!" Lillie snapped. She knew what she was doing, even if she was half-dead to the world for lack of sleep! I haven't spent the last five years training for this―just to get taken in!

"Alright, alright, I give!" he said, laughing under his breath. He spun the knife around and held it out to her, one hand up in the air and bowing slightly. "You win, love!"

She took the knife back, carefully watching him. Once she was sure he wasn't pulling another trick, she put both knives away and brought out her sack of caps. "Fine," she said, handing him the sack. "We're even, then."

Moriarty's eyebrows shot up. "You had the money," he said, and a grin came over his face. "Christ, you're as sly as I."

"I know a few tricks," she said, dropping the sack into his palm.

"I can respect that," Moriarty said, patting her shoulder and grinning. It fell away as he sighed. "Why I find the fun ones when I'm too old for them, I'll never know. Look, love―"

"Lillie," she said, watching him. "My name is Lillie."

"Pretty. Little flower, all grown up." He put the sack onto the top of the nearby monitor and turned back to her. "Your Da did you wrong, I know. Wherever you went, it was good. Don't let this give you hell. Enough of that in the world already."

"I won't." Lillie sighed. "Thank you for an entertaining moment, Mr. Moriarty."

"Many welcomes," he replied, smiling broadly. "If you ever need more, you know where I am."

"I do." She turned to leave, then paused and curled a hand up at her chest. "Oh, I did have another question."

"Wearing out your welcome, already?" Moriarty crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his chin down. "What's it now, love?"

"The blackguard―" she paused and smiled. "Jericho. How much money would I need to hire him?"

"Usually goes for a number with three zeroes." He stared at her for a brief moment, setting his jaw firmly. "Not worth it, little flower. The man's a blubbering old drunkard."

"I knew that much," she said, to herself. She didn't have any money, now. How she was going to manage to hire a gun without a cap to her name―

Well, she didn't need him. She wanted him. Because he could take bullets for her. And because he was interesting, and he'd followed her around all day. She was curious as to why a man who didn't seem to like her much would want to follow her around... and why he was so worried about the raiders.

"Where could I get that kind of money," she wondered, aloud.

"You're set on taking him with you?" Lillie nodded. Moriarty pressed his mouth together and "hemmed" a little.

"I need a shield," she explained, quickly. "I have the sword."

Moriarty nodded, then. "Aye, I understand." He rubbed his chin. "Might could pull a favor or two," he mused.

"Or I could 'talk' him into it," she said, pursing her lips. She didn't quite understand why the man wanted to help her―after she'd done all that, he was acting like she was a close friend. Like he... Lillie blinked and tried to focus. It felt weird, whatever it was.

The barman laughed, throwing his head back. "Lord, your enthusiasm!" he said, shaking his shoulders. "But, ah, that one is a touch more dangerous than some old Irish barman with no heart for hurting little flowers."

"So no knives under the ears," she stated, shrugging. "I do have other tricks."

"Christ, you're killing me here," Moriarty chuckled, shaking his head. His face twitched up into a grin. "Bravado will only get you killed, love."

Lillie simply stood there and stared at him. After a minute of staring back at her, examining her face, Moriarty nodded. "I'll see what I've got up my sleeve, first." He looked back at his terminal for a brief moment. "No need to stir up the dust, if we wet it down."

She felt her cheeks prickling with blood, for some reason. "I don't want charity, Mr. Moriarty―"

"Of course not," Moriarty said, lifting an arm and putting it on her shoulder. "It's a favor for a friend. You know what that means, aye?"

Lillie blinked and narrowed her eyes at him, shaking off his hand. "I get the idea," she said, and he moved backward quickly. She would have laughed―what started the whole thing―but she was too tired.

"Mr. Moriarty, may I please borrow a bed," she mumbled, rubbing her face. "I haven't had proper sleep in almost two days."

He smiled, and patted her on the back, and sent her up to the second floor without any pomp. Lillie wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but she was really too tired to think about it―

And she had more than some strange social interaction to worry about.