Sticking out of a trashcan just outside of Publick Occurences, Nick spots it: the corner of a piece of paper, stuffed inside the bin hastily. He wanders over quickly and dislodges the poster from the garbage, then carefully straightens it out and looks it over.

MISSING CHILD

Maggie O'Hearn

Last seen March 6th, 2280, in her home in the upper stands. If you see this girl or have any information, please speak to Rosa Quinn or Detective Valentine.

Reward: 1000 caps.

Accompanying the text is a black and white photograph of Maggie, and a few more key descriptors. Nick focuses hard on the poster in his hand, and is lost in thought when Piper steps out of the adjacent building for a cigarette.

"Nicky?" she questions softly, then chuckles as she spots the poster in his hand. "Please tell me times haven't gotten so rough at the agency you've resorted to digging through the trash..." Her words are playful, but they hold a hint of sincere concern. Nick turns and smiles.

"No, actually. I've just developed a passion for dumpster diving." he jokes, and as he does, his eyes land on a spot on a metal barrel outside of Piper's place where there are tape marks. He can only assume this is where the poster he is holding has come from.

Piper laughs at Nick's joke, then follows his gaze to the barrel. She pieces together what he's deducing, and takes a drag of her cigarette before speaking. "On a case?" she asks gently, then steps forward into the dusky street. "I didn't even realize someone took that down."

"So you're saying this wasn't your doing?" Nick asks, and Piper shakes her head.

"Nope. Wasn't me." she confirms.

Nick had figured as much, anyway. "Ms. Quinn came to see me tonight," he tells her. "Asked me to re-open Maggie's case. Frankly, I'm a little anxious about the whole thing and what we might find." He confides in Piper because he trusts her, he likes her. He considers her a dear friend, and the feeling is mutual. Piper reaches out and gently takes the poster from his hand, eyes flicking over it with commiseration. Like the rest of the residents of Diamond City, she has been looking at these posters for years, but it has been a while since she actually paid one any mind.

"Poor Ms. Quinn." she says softly. Nick nods.

"I hope we can bring her some form of closure." He takes the poster back when Piper offers it to him and folds it neatly, before sliding it into his pocket. "She told me someone's been taking her posters down all over Diamond City. You haven't happened to see anything, have you?"

Piper shakes her head, and her brow creases. "Er... no. But that's... That's strange. Why would someone suddenly care after all these years?" Nick can almost see the gears start to turn in Piper's head.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out." he sighs.

After a moment of thoughtful silence, Piper flicks her cigarette butt to the ground and grinds it with her boot. "If you want, I'll see if I can help somehow." she offers.

"Yeah, you know what?" Nick smiles to her, "I would really appreciate that."

"Alright!" There is an enthusiasm behind her expression, "This sounds like it could be a juicy story. A cold case, re-opened? I mean, this could be big." she chuckles. "And you know I want dibs to all the exclusive details."

Nick chuckles. "I wouldn't know who else to tell, Piper." he says. "Why don't you come by the agency some time, check out the file? I know, it all happened a bit before your time here in Diamond City. But who knows... Maybe a fresh set of eyes could make all the difference."

"Sounds good, Nicky." she says with a small smile. "I'll swing by in the next few days, deal?"

"Deal."

"And in the meantime, I'll see if I can't spot anyone meddling with the posters."

"Thanks, Piper. I figured I could count on you."

Piper's eyes dart around the growing darkness, as if she expects to spot some sketchy character hobbling by with a handful of crumpled posters. Of course, that does not happen. But she feels antsy, now. Like she wants to patrol the streets and just observe and see if she can't find the perp and–

"Try not to get yourself too wound up about it." Nick says as if he has read Piper's mind, and the reporter laughs and rolls her eyes.

"I don't get wound up." she teases, the words dripping with sarcasm and not a hint of truth. Nick chuckles.

"Right. And I'm not made of metal and silicone." Nick says playfully. "I'll see you soon."

"You will." Piper says with a wave of her finger, then moves to step back inside.

Nick spends the next while walking slowly through the streets, the alleys. He spots a few more pieces of ripped tape, as well as some in-tact posters. But he doesn't once see anyone who even looks remotely interested in them. The few people who are around pass them by as if they are just visual background noise.

Nick's walk ends at Power Noodles, where he pulls up a stool to rest his old joints and people watch.

"Na-ni shimasho-ka?" A protrectron appoaches Nick from the other side of the counter, its' footsteps heavy on the ground.

"Takahashi." Nick greets him. "Nothing for me tonight." he shakes his head and then rests his elbows on the counter. "You doing alright? Nobody messin' with ya?"

"Na-ni shimasho-ka?" Takahashi responds, and Nick chuckles.

"Happy to hear it."

Takahashi turns and walks away then, back to his pot of forever soup which he works on stirring, just as he has for the last fifteen years and just as he will for the rest of his days.

Nick's mind is working itself in circles as he sits, eyes narrow as they scan the market. Most shops are closed, except Diamond City Surplus which is being manned by a Mr. Handy at this hour. He floats around his little storefront and tidies merchandise, keeping a hopeful photoreceptor peeled for potential customers. A guard stops his patrol and stands beside another guard, and they gossip for a few minutes. Nick observes them but deduces that their dialogue is likely pedestrian, and thus, he moves on. A few teenagers walk by, talking and laughing loudly, their eyes briefly catching on the lights of Power Noodles before they head into the alleyways. Then, slowly, their voices grow quieter and quieter until they are gone and Nick wonders to himself if this could simply be a case of teenage boredom.

"Na-ni shimasho-ka?" Takahashi's voice sounds at the other end of the counter, and Nick looks over to see another man sitting down, a few empty stools between them.

"Hell yeah, man." the man chuckles, his voice unmistakeable. "Extra spicy, you know how I like 'em."

"Cass?" Nick asks, and the man turns, pushing his fur-lined hood down.

"Detective freaking Valentine!" he greets Nick excitedly, brown eyes sparkling in the glow of the string lights. "Long time, no see!"

"It has been a while. I didn't know you were back."

Cass is the son of Dr. Sun, though it isn't immediately obvious. He owes his slight Spanish accent and tan skin to his mother, who had raised him for the first several years of his life before dumping him back on his father and then disappearing from his life forever. He is smart, a gifted chemist and doctor, and for a while it was assumed he would take over Dr. Sun's clinic when he passes. Instead, though, he is a rather prolific chem dealer – a shock to most thanks to his seemingly charming and kind disposition.

"Ah... Yeah, I kind of disappeared for a while." Cass chuckles, sitting back as Takahashi places a bowl of piping hot noodles in front of him. "Thanks, Takahashi," he says asidedly, then grabs his chopsticks and stirs the noodles around in the stock. "Just needed to get away, you know? Thought I was going to go crazy here, all holed up in my room."

Nick regards him with sympathy. "And how are you doing now? You holding up okay?" he asks.

Cass shifts, eyes cast down on his noodles. "Some days are harder than others. Nothing really prepares you for... Losing a spouse. But you know, I'm coping. Better now, thanks to pops." he adds with a chuckle, though there is a profound sadness in his words. "You know, I started doing a lot of chems, and then, one day, I said to myself... Why the fuck am I doing this? I could go back to selling these, making caps instead of spending them!" he laughs now, and Nick raises his eyebrows. "So I went back out into the Wasteland, just like Lana and I use to do. And now the caps are rollin' in."

"Well, I'm... glad to see you've found your feet again." Nick says apprehensively, as he's not ever been one for recreational drug use. "You know, if you ever need anything, my door is always open."

"Appreciate that, Valentine." Cass blows the steam off of a bite of noodles which he's taken in his chopsticks. "You're alright, you know?"

"So I've heard." Nick smirks and turns to face forward again, letting Cass stuff his face in peace. Instead, he focuses on the missing child poster in the middle of Takahashi's noodle stand, just above and to the left of the noodle pot.

Maggie O'Hearn. Wavy, red hair. Green eyes. Missing for eight years. Only fourteen at the date of her disappearance.

His synthetic eyes glaze over as he gets lost in his thoughts.

What happened to Maggie O'Hearn...?