The last job. It almost felt surreal, us living a life different to the one we've known for the last months. I wanted it more than anything in the world, but ever since I woke up this morning, my sisters' words kept on banging through my mind.

Before we entered Hancock's estate, we paused in front of the entrance. It was raining and we took shelter under the balcony above us.

'When do we tell him the news?' Mac asked me, his right hand resting on my hip.

'After the job's done. He won't be happy about us quitting the field.' I wasn't looking forward to tell him. We were his best men. The problem solvers. I wasn't exactly eager to tell him we would quit the business for good.

'I don't care.' He whispered and pulled me closer against him. 'This is what I want.' He planted one chaste kiss on my forehead. 'For us.'

'Right on time.' Hancock noted, sitting comfortably in the red sofa centered in his office room. MacCready gave him a short nod and placed himself against the wooden wall, arms crossed. He seemed to like being in the background and let me do the talking when there was business to be discussed.

'Hancock.' I greeted him and took a seat in front of him. 'So, when do we leave?' I asked impatiently. I wanted to get on with it, be done with it.

'Nathan should be here any minute. You want something to drink in the meantime?'

My right leg nervously bounced up and down. 'No. I-ah...'

'You aren't nervous, are you? You seem off today. Don't worry, knowing your capabilities I'm sure you can manage this job blindfolded.'

MacCready chuckled, interrupted by a short cough. I didn't had time to look over my shoulder and look in his green eyes, savoring the moment of our little inside joke. A man walked through the door. A tall man, with black hair hanging in front of his beady eyes. He didn't say a word.

'Great. Now our little party is complete.' Hancock spoke, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically.

'These are my two business associates. They'll be accompanying you to the lab. Don't worry, they're only here to make sure everything goes well.'

'I'm Catherine.' I smiled at him, but he didn't return the gesture.

'I'm Nathan.' He replied, his voice apathetic. When his eyes met mine, it felt as if he looked straight through me. He seemed uninterested, detached from what was happening around him. Yet he seemed so calm. I found it hard to believe that the man standing in front of me killed a whole gang of raiders by himself.

'This here in the back is my-' My lover. My personal savior. My ticket to a brighter future.

'My partner.' I eventually decided on, unable to hide a smile nobody but us would understand. 'MacCready. He'll be joining us as well.' Mac nodded at him, raising his head briefly to greet him.

Nathan took a good, long look at him with narrowed eyes before he could greet him. For a moment, it seemed like he recognized him.

'Nathan, once you've provided us access to the lab, your part of the job is done. Return here for your payment.' Hancock explained to him while everyone listened. I noticed how Nathan kept taking glances at Mac. He seemed a bit uneasy, nervous even.

'Questions?' Hancock asked.

Nathan shook his head and took one last look at Mac before he shuffled out of the room.

'You two. Come here.' The ghoul whispered and bowed his upper body towards us, mentioning to come closer. Before he talked, he made sure Nathan was out of earshot.

'I meant it when I said no funny business. This guy is giving me a bad vibe, but I can't let all those chems go to waste. You understand, right? If his sources are even slightly correct, we'll hit a mother lode. Keep an eye on him, from the moment you leave this place. I mea-'

'Hancock. You know you can count on us.' I interrupted him, not in need of his paranoia.

'Return with good news. And be careful out there.'

When we walked out of the room, I asked Mac if he'd seen Nathan before.

'Never in my life. Guy gives me the creeps though.' He replied honestly.

'The way he looked at you, it seemed... off. For a moment I was sure he recognized you.'

Mac pulled up his shoulders and placed his hand on my upper back, guiding me out of the room.

'Cath, stop worrying. We'll be back here before you know it.'

We left Goodneighbor facing a short two hour walk towards south of Quincy. I knew the territory so I felt confident about traversing the area. I knew which roads were safe to use and the areas I needed to avoid. Unfortunately having Nathan around caused us to make the trek in an uncomfortable silence. It felt uneasy to talk to Mac freely about the things running through my mind and Nathan wasn't exactly a man to start conversation.

'You don't talk much, do you?' I eventually tried after an hour, hoping that if we'd have a chat I'd feel more comfortable having him around. Even if it's for a short time. He shook his head, his eyes fixated on the ground. If what Hancock told me about his past was even remotely true, I would understand the distrust of people he was showing. No further response or indication he wanted to talk followed, so I backed off.

When we passed Quincy at a reasonable safe distance, we arrived to what seemed to match the description of the compound. A small building, standing all by itself surrounded by debris and dead leaves. We stopped behind a half broken down stone wall not far from it.

'This should be it.' Nathan mumbled, reaching for his right pocket. That action alone was enough for MacCready to raise his rifle slightly, finger on the trigger. Clearly he distrusted the man as much as I did. Nathan pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper.

'I got the codes right here.' He spoke, wiggling it around between his fingers.

'We need to make sure it's safe before we approach the building. Wait here.' I explained. I peeked around the wall and scouted the area through the scope of my rifle. No windows. No campfires. No signs to indicate there's any activity of people living near the building what so ever. A green light if I ever saw one.

'Follow me. And stay close.' I commanded Nathan, who seemed to be on another planet, his eyes drawing a blank.

'Nathan. Let's go.' I raised my voice slightly. I regretted the harsh tone I used, especially on a man deeply scared by his past. He looked up at me and followed us towards the building.

'Do your thing.' I asked him, urging him to enter the codes. Hesitantly he folded the crumbled up piece of paper open and started inserting the codes. The longer he lingered behind that terminal, the more nervous I grew. I hoped this wasn't a trick. I hoped the codes were real. I just wanted to be done with this job and go home.

A loud thud, followed by metal clanking against each other. Then silence.

'Well? Did it work?' MacCready asked curiously. Moment of truth. I tried pulling the handle on the door. It felt like it was stuck, but once I put some weight behind it, it slid open.

'Nathan. You can go. Your part of the deal is fulfilled.' I friendly informed him, hoping he'd take the hint and leave so Mac and I could finish our business here.

Darkness. I turned on the light of my Pip-Boy and my eyesight adjusted. There was only one huge room filled with metal boxes, some of them were stacked all the way to the roof.

I walked towards one of the crates and opened it. Food. Dry foods. I opened another one. Soup. Another one, it contained fancy lady snacks. A horrible feeling swept through my chest, realizing this wasn't a chem lab at all.

'So, what's the deal? How many chems are we lookin' at?' MacCready asked triumphantly. We shared a look, and he immediately saw something wasn't right. He walked towards me and crouched next to me before the last crate I opened up.

'We've been misinformed. No chems here. Just food. Hancock won't be pleased.'

'Look here. Gunner's mark.' He pointed his finger on one crate, bearing the grey skull icon they're known to use.

'I don't understand. It's supposed to be a chem lab. This- this is supply stash of the Gunners.' I said, trying to make sense of the situation.

'Let's go. I don't want to be found here by the Gunners. Not now.' He spoke, a slight panic in his voice. He was right. This wasn't the time to cross old enemies, especially not after we took our revenge on them a few months ago. The Gunners never forget and they certainly never forgive.

A gun cocked behind us.

'I knew it was you. I knew it.'