The Great Green Jewel really was a letdown for Riley, she much preferred it when it had been a baseball stadium. The first time she'd come here, which had coincidentally been her last time, she'd hated the way people acted, the way people tried to act as if nothing had happened, tried to imitate the lives of those before that stupid bomb had gone off. It made her feel sick, seeing people desperately trying to recreate the ways of the past, and getting it tragically wrong. Diamond City was normal compared to Goodneighbour, but something about the settlement had irked Riley.

Riley looked up at the huge wall that kept Diamond City safe, light was almost gone, and she'd have to be quick to get off the abandoned streets of Boston, things weren't nearly as safe as they'd used to be. Sighing, she picked up her pace and made her way to the entrance gate.

"Hello? Anyone home?" She called into the dimly lit foyer that served as the gatekeeper's residence. A young man with sandy hair popped his head into view.

"Oh, uh, hello. What's your business in Diamond City?" The gatekeeper said.

"I'm here on an errand, and I'm looking to do some purchasing." Riley smoothly replied to his inquest, she wasn't a local visitor to the city, and she'd heard of their trouble with synths, so was expecting an inquisition.

"Alright, I'll let you on through." The gatekeeper replied, somewhat cheerily. Riley slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that was quick. Thanks...?" Riley said, leaving her sentence up in the air.

"Danny. Danny Sullivan." The gatekeeper, Danny, replied quickly, a smile on his tired face.

"Thanks Danny." Riley said kindly, but her face remained as stone-like as ever. She made her way towards the entrance of Diamond City and observed the luminescent hustle and bustle of the small city, vendors were beginning to close up, and the stores that thrived on the night life were beginning to wake.

The Dugout Inn was Riley's desired destination, but first she needed to get some Jet back into her system, Chem-I-Care wasn't shut just yet, so Riley quickly made her way through the market place to the vendor.

"What can I get you?" The vendor, Solomon, if Riley remembered correctly asked.

Of course you memorised all the chem dealer's names. Typical. Riley thought to herself before replying.

"Three Jet inhalers, please." Riley replied, resting her elbows on the counter. Solomon raised an eyebrow, most Wastelanders weren't used to manners, unfortunately for Riley, it was a habit she couldn't break.

Solomon turned his back to retrieve the Jet, but only returned with one canister.

"Sorry miss, a fellow came by earlier, almost ran me dry of Jet, this is the only one I've got left in stock." Solomon replied apologetically, placing the inhaler over the counter.

"Just my luck." Riley muttered before handing over the appropriate amount of bottle caps. When she'd first learned that bottle caps were now being used as currency she'd immediately regretted throwing out all the bottle caps she had ceremoniously collected over her youthful years of drinking Nuka Cola.

Picking up the Jet, Riley finally began the journey to the Dugout Inn.

"Who would buy a full stock of Jet?" She wondered aloud before her inner voice answered.

You would.

Deacon silently watched as Riley entered the Dugout Inn, he knew that she'd be paying for a room for the night, and if all went to plan, she'd be staying in the room he'd just placed one of Desdemona's Join the Railroad! holodisks in.

Deacon sighed as he looked down at the obscenely large collection of Jet he was now in possession of.

"Now just what am I gonna do with you?".

Night was quickly descending upon Nora and Preston and the warm air of the day was turning to cold. Nora looked down at the map on her Pip Boy, they weren't too far from Diamond City, but it was getting darker, and as strange as it was to say, it was probably safer to spend the night in a settlement around here rather than risking the tumultuous journey to Diamond City.

"Oberland Station isn't too far from here General." Preston piped up amiably. Nora found his hopeful attitude endearing, especially considering his consequences, she just wished that cars were still functional and of use, walking took far too long, and Nora ultimately felt exposed in this wasteland.

"Preston, this Valentine guy, what exactly do you know about him?" Nora enquired once they'd continued walking.

"Well, he's one of the good guys, helps a lot of people out. He can help you find your son."

"And him being a synth... well, what precisely is a synth?" Nora continued.

Preston paused before answering. "Well General, there's different types, but they're all synthetic humans, made to be like you and me. Problem is, the Institute, has some messed up ideas of how to use them." He took a breath before continuing. "And after the 'Broken Mask Incident' Diamond City isn't took friendly with synth's anymore." Preston finished cryptically.

Nora raised her eyebrow. "Okay Preston, I'll bite. What's the 'Broken Mask Incident'?"

Preston almost looked pleased at her question. "Well General, many years back, decades even, a man wandered into Diamond City, everything was going fine until one day he went berserk and killed some residents. Turns out, he was a synth, and Diamond City hasn't been the same since."

A feeling of unease settled onto Nora as she eyed the younger man. The way that people so casually discussed murder unsettled her.

"That sounds... horrible." The more time Nora spent here, the more she wished it were some horrible nightmare she would wake up from. Nora was ready to ask Preston some more questions just as he slowed to a halt. He pointed forwards into the dark, and Nora caught sight of a settlement.

"Oberland's just up there, we can check in, then catch some shut-eye.

A sense of relief flushed over Nora, she was exhausted and just about ready to collapse, but the relief was short lived as dread quickly set in. She wasn't sure if she was ready to face another lonely and cold night. Her throat tightened as she thought about the unfamiliar emptiness of sleeping alone, she squeezed her eyes shut briefly before following Preston towards the dimly lit settlement, and prepared for the long night ahead.