Old Man Stockton held a sharpened pencil but his hand hesitated before laying down a mark. It's not like they were making any more of them yet. And with all the new trade he wanted to account for, given that Cantebury Commons was nearly the equal trade center of his native Bunker Hill, there was much for which to account.

And that is when the blade appeared under his chin with its coursing electricity raising goosebumps. He had never seen her enter the room, or even approach. "You wanted to talk, Stockton. I'm listening. And one of the things I'm listening for is why I shouldn't take the head of the trade advisor to the General."

Stockton was old. And rich. But he was still an operative. He swallowed and then spoke calmly. "Well, if you were a good person then I would tell you that your real quarrel isn't with me - my trading is all private and not any part of the government dealings that the General does. If you were an evil person then I'd explain that I can do more for you alive than dead. If you were a practical person, you'd at least want to know the reason that I wanted to speak with you...privately - despite our relative abilities."

JINGWEI'S SHOCKSWORD powered down. The Lone Wanderer slowly came into focus as her CHINESE STEALTH SUIT powered down as well. She removed her mask. "If your trading is private, then why does everyone tell me that you're the one to see about a trading license?"

Old Man Stockton looked into her eyes. "Because truth is not all the truth there is to be had. And I learned long ago in the Railroad that there is always more truth.

"You know by now that the General runs a representative government, with delegates from each of the major communities she rules."

"Major?", the Lone Wanderer pointed out.

"Exactly.", the man smiled, hoping he had finally found someone who could understand. "As she has expanded her territory, she deems whether the people living in it make up a settlement or a community. Then the communities are instructed to send representatives to any given meeting the Castle calls."

"The Castle?"

"Minutemen headquarters, back in the Commonwealth. This way she can show everyone that whatever she wanted to do in the first place is on behalf of the people. Even including the Institute instead of defeating them."

"Tell me about the Institute."

"The Institute...they're a hidden bunch of technowizards. They started making robots that they call 'synths' a long time ago but now have gotten them to the point where they're just as much people as anyone else. We...I remember that you helped us save one of them when his cover was about to be blown in Rivet City, a decade ago.

"And while Bullseye...the General, I mean, was glad to work with us in taking down this organization that was making slaves and help us with smuggling synths away from the Institute, some thing changed. She was working with us because we were working against the Institute. You see, while she was frozen, the Institute took her son and killed her husband. She wanted the Institute destroyed more than anyone. She even told us that she originally helped reform the Minutemen in order to have an army to ram down the Institute's throat."

The Lone Wanderer started putting together pieces. "So what you're telling me is this. Once upon a time, the General was the Sole Survivor from before the Great War. In the meantime, the Institute started being able to make robots indistinguishable from people. And they harmed her as much as they could. She was gung-ho about wiping them off the map. And then when she took over everything, she all of a sudden included the Institute in her government.

"Hm...what has the Railroad done in response?"

Stockton pointed at her. "That's exactly it. She attacked the Railroad command just before she sunk the Prydwyn. The Railroad survived by the skin of its teeth. But now, she's somehow convinced the Railroad to serve as her intelligence corps. Even I as a member can be punished under Minutemen orders simply for telling you that I'm Railroad."

"So if you think she's been replaced, the Railroad wouldn't do anything?", the woman bet.

"No, it's something more than that.", Stockton surmised. "I don't think she was simply replaced by a synth of herself. She's held so-called Turing tests to certify that the overwhelming amount of indistinguishable from human synths aren't sentient. And with some of the things she's pulled, I think she's prepared to take those tests and anything we could come up with herself. And if the Institute did something to her that affected her mind that much, she wouldn't be valuable to keep in place either. So the Institute has something on her - something that outweighs what they did to her family.

"And it's going to take someone independent to find out what that is."

The Lone Wanderer nodded. "And if this independent person found out what it was, they could use it to bring down the General. And that would destroy her Minutemen."

"No, it wouldn't.", Stockton disagreed. "They're too organized, too...back now."

She folded her arms. "Then what good does it do us down here?"

Stockton pointed out the window to one of the Minutemen's recruitment posters. "Preston Garvey.

"He'd be the next general. And Preston Garvey's a good man. He's never sought a war with another faction. He's only tried to protect local farms."

"Isn't he also the one that recruited the Lone Survivor into become the General?"

"Only because he was the last man standing. After protecting civilian refugees from Quincy to Sanctuary Hills.", Stockton answered. "I promise you: with Garvey as general, the Minutemen will stop caring about which communities are under their thumb."

"But he's more than loyal.", the Lone Wanderer replied. "I've seen how he looks at her."

"Well, I've been involved with espionage for a long time.", the man replied. "I know for a fact that when she was still calling herself Overboss, her and Preston nearly mixed it up on the battlefield. Preston is more loyal to the people and the idea of helping the people than he is to anyone, including himself let alone her."

The Lone Wanderer thought for a moment.

"So you want me to take Reilly's Rangers and find out what the Institute has on the General. Exposing this will remove the General from her office, replacing her with someone who will keep the Minutemen from being the Brotherhood of Steel's problem."

"That's right.", Stockton acknowledged.

"And you want this because you hold an ideal that synths should be free and the Institute is the group keeping that from happening."

"Yes."

The Lone Wanderer started questioning. "How do you expect me to convince Reilly's Rangers to work on this?"

"I have been trading very well for a very long time. I'm certain that whatever your rates are, they're going to be found *ahem* 'reasonable'.", Stockton replied.

"If you're found out, you're going to be implicated as a traitor. Working directly with people who are hired by the Brotherhood of Steel."

The elder rolled his eyes. "Are you asking for a discretion fee?"

She shifted from one foot to the other. "To keep that discretion, we're going to have to stay on the Brotherhood of Steel's payroll. They'll be a client as well."

"Times are tough all over."

"And just how are you going to have us get into the Commonwealth proper?", she asked.

Stockton reminded, "You do remember who hands out the licenses for traders in the Capital Wastes, right?"

The Lone Wanderer drummed her fingers. "Give me a few hours and stay here. I'll talk to Reilly."