In the morning I woke to the silence of raiders sleeping after being up all night, and a strange sight. Deacon sat at a table with a small box open in front of him and he was putting on his disguise. Or as my brain immediately said, doing his makeup. With a paintbrush and his fingertips he smudged dark powder around his eyes, somehow changing the whole look of his face.

I don't know if I've described what Deacon looks like, other than the sunglasses. And he's hard to describe; he looks so average. He's a little older than I am, I think. Not particularly muscular or skinny, not handsome or ugly. Light skin, some color eyes behind those shades, and whatever hair he decides to put on. I think his real hair is brown but he usually keeps his head shaved. He had a couple wigs in the box along with several fake scars, some paints and powders, and some prewar makeup.

"Wow, where did you get all this?"

"Collected it. Made some. This is just charcoal, and the scars are made of wax. They're from that big disguise store with all the little clothes for kids. Tell me the truth: were all your children spies?"

"It was Halloween. The Great War happened a few days before Halloween. Oh god, I used to wear this color every day." I indicated one of the lipsticks.

"You had to wear a disguise every day?" Deacon asked, wide-eyed and completely faking it.

"Yes, I disguised myself as the junior partner in a law firm. Subtle eyeliner, natural lips, pink nail polish only. Feminine but not so feminine it distracts the senior partners."

"Sounds complicated."

"It was. But nobody shot at me."

"Ever?" Deacon asked, really wide-eyed this time. His eyes were blue. This time.

"Ever. Nate was in the army so the Chinese shot at him, but the first time anybody ever aimed a gun at me was a raider in Concord."

Deacon shook his head, looking at me like I look at him when he's trying to sell me one of his stories. But I was telling the truth. Revenge was highly entertaining.

While we talked I turned on the stove to heat water for breakfast. Deacon warmed the fake scar over a burner and applied it to his head, somehow getting it in the same place where he'd had it yesterday. He used paint and powder to make it look more real and we ate porridge for breakfast. He'd brought it from the Railroad's supply, from ingredients they bought from out local farmers.

"So Overboss, what shall we do today?"

I looked down at my foot, still wrapped in the medical brace. I took the thing off to sleep, but I couldn't put any weight on that ankle without it. "Nothing too active. Talk to Gage. Talk to Sierra if we can find her. Hope she hasn't gone anywhere and got eaten. Try to learn about the rest of this place. We need places to hide people, and the Overboss needs to look busy. And maybe I'll beg MacKenzie for more stimpacks."

Deacon, headed for the edge of the patio, turned to give me a look. "You're eating like a yao guai and sleeping fourteen hours a night. Take any more stimpacks and you'll grow a third arm. I knew a guy once…" He grinned.

I had a realization. "That's the first time you've lied to me in days."

Deacon shrugged and repeated, "You're eating like a yao guai and sleeping fourteen hours a night. You're not at your best."

"Well if you're taking a break from bullshitting me…" I tried to think of a question. Unfortunately the only thing that came to mind was, "Is Johnny your real name?"

A silent chuckle. "'Course not. It's in honor of Johnny D, old friend from the Railroad."

I didn't know whether to believe that, but while I fumbled for a response Deacon straightened and reached for his raider jacket. In an entirely different voice he said, "Here comes Gage."

I took a breath and switched my brain from joking with a friend to dealing with an enemy.

After a minute Gage hollered up, "'Mornin', Overboss! You awake?"

I let down the elevator and Gage found me putting my hair up and Deacon cleaning a gun in an out of the way seat. Gage's single eye looked us up and down and lingered suspiciously on my bodyguard. Gage was carrying a bundle of fabric he dropped casually on the bar. "Mornin'. So. Everything all peachy with our friendly neighborhood psychopaths?"

"They're something else all right."

"Sure hope you didn't promise 'em too much. I mean, a little over the top is part of the game but you don't want them holding it over you if you can't deliver.'

I said, "Seems like you did the promising before I got here. The rest of the parks? They're on board as long as we can deliver."

"Yup. Time to roll up your sleeves, boss, there's work to be done." He stepped to the edge of the patio and gestured out. "This place is huge. Divided up into sections. Parks, whatever the hell they called them back in the day. We need to take 'em all back. Every section we secure gives us a little more breathing room, gets the gangs spread out, and gives us more salvage to sell in the market."

"I see. What's the plan?"

"You stake a claim, plant a flag for one of the gangs. Once they see that they'll know it's safe to move in. Who gets what, that'll be your call."

"A flag?" I repeated, "Seriously?"

"Yup." Gage gestured to the pile of fabric. "Lot of these idiots can't read so it needs to be plain as day for them. Something clear as this they can't pretend they don't know who gets what."

I picked up the top flag and spread it out. Paint on some disintegrating fabric, probably old bedsheets. "So I'm deciding who gets territory, huh?" Gage wanted me to decide, therefor it was a decision that would be trouble.

"Whoever gets it will be grateful but the others might get a little jealous. So give it some thought."

"Great. Are any of them expecting to come along and help secure the parks?"

"Not at first. You still gotta prove to them that you're worth following, remember? You've got time..." Gage's eye flicked down to my foot, "But I'm not sure how much. They're gettin' a mite impatient."

"Not more impatient than I am. The doc says it'll be a while longer before I can get this thing off without permanently screwing up my ankle and then nobody gets any parks. So, got any ideas how I can look busy until then?"

Gage smiled, "Matter of fact I do. Lots of things happening this week. Show your face, do some shopping for weapons, maybe chat with the leaders again and you'll probably be fine. I'll remind the gangs one of them shot you."

"Yeah do that." I grumbled. My ankle hurt and my back hurt and I owed Dixie for burning a hole in me with her shock baton. I took a breath and said, "Can you tell me what you know about the parks? Maybe show me the gates?"

"Smart. Let the gangs see you out and about. They should be wakin' up, want to go now?"

"Sure. Let's go." I tightened armor straps and holstered my weapons, and beckoned Deacon who stood up and made his weapons vanish under some bit of his raider costume.

Calmly Gage said, "Heard from Mags your bodyguard broke Lizzie Wyeth's finger."

"He'll break more than that next time Lizzie tries anything."

"Fair. Please don't kill her if you can help it. Not a lot of chemists around and we make good caps on the jet she cooks."

"I'll try not to." We rode down the elevator. There were half a dozen raiders passed out around the square. One groaned and rolled into a shadier spot as we went past. Gage looked down at him and shrugged.

"They do that every night?" I asked.

"Yup. Why not?"

Back home, 'why not' was because daylight was for working, farming, guard duty, doing things. Here plenty of people had nothing to do. The raiders who were awake were scrounging, or herding slaves out to fill their wagons with scrap. A few of them were fiddling with a still, which was sort of productive.

We walked under a big dead tree then out of Nuka-town USA under a white archway. There was a river that circled the center of Nuka-world and I stopped to look down into it. Water flowed sluggishly over trash and wrecked cars. "I assume you can't drink this. Can you swim in it?"

"Once." Gage said. "Park's water system only works to some taps and from some toilets so the rest of the shit goes in here. And yeah, I know it's only a matter of time 'til we get a plague but we got more immediate concerns. Like that there. Galactic Zone. Some idiot managed to turn the robot security on. All the robot security. 'Least the bots don't come out, but we can't get in either and there's gotta be good scrap in there."

What we were looking at was a wall with an archway in it. I squinted and saw the name 'Galactic Zone' and 'Enter Here' in dead neon above it. A few yards in a body in Operators armor lay bloating in the sunlight. From somewhere we heard the chugging of turrets.

Deacon managed to communicate 'oh hell no' by a look alone.

I asked Gage, "Does anybody know how the security works? Is there a central terminal?"

"You think these idiots can use a terminal?"
"Point. Which way to the next one?"

"North, Boss."

So north we went. On a cracked road with yellow grass poking through. There were a bunch of disintegrating bottle statues along the way. Some of the bushes along the road were alive, which was a good sign. Soon we were walking along beside another huge park wall and after a few minutes we reached the gate. Another wide archway with 'Dry Rock Gulch' over it in big letters. Below it someone had painted 'Danger! Bloodworms!' on a board.

"Bloodworms?" I asked.

"Come outta the ground." Gage explained. That seemed to be the whole explanation. I'd overheard other slaves mention bloodworms but nobody had told me what they were.

"And they're so dangerous the gangs haven't been able to take the place?"

"They tried. Tossed in a bunch of grenades but a week later there were just as many as before. Gotta be a queen in there somewhere, prob'ly more than one."

We were interrupted by a human shriek and Sierra Petrovita came pelting out of Dry Rock Gulch. "Heeeeelp!" she hollered.

And bloodworms popped out of the ground behind her. Gage and Deacon both drew faster than I did and a couple of gunshots later Sierra got past us and staggered to a panting halt. When she got her breath she chirped, "I found one! I found a Cappy! Have you found any?"

I didn't answer, more interested in the bloodworm that had died under the archway. I stepped over to get a good look at it. The thing looked like an earthworm, the same segmented slimy body, but it was probably five feet long and as thick as my leg. "These things pop out of the ground like..." One of my college friends had this toy, a can of nuts with a spring snake hidden inside. He'd offer nuts to the teachers and the snake would spring up in their face. That's what bloodworms were like.

Deacon had grabbed Sierra and was saying something quiet. We had explained over dinner and I hoped the need for secrecy had made it into Sierra's head.

I poked the bloodworm with a stick. It was in two pieces but the mouth end was undamaged. "Gage? Why aren't these things everywhere?"

Gage shrugged. "Way I hear it they stay in one place 'til there's too many and then they spread. We been keeping the numbers down. Pack lets molerats in to lure 'em out and then we shoot them, but if we stop they'll spread. Oughtta do that again soon if they're as big as this."

"Sounds like fun. Sierra, what did you see in there?"

Sierra was reloading; a cheap looking pistol but at least she had some kind of weapon. She perked up, "Oh, it was great! Lots of the buildings aren't damaged, some of them are still locked! Think of it! Nuke-world's secrets from before the great war! Only I didn't get to see them because I got attacked by giant worms. I saw some bloodbugs too, and anthills. Probably should bring more ammunition when I go back. What are you all up to?"

"I'm taking a look at the gates of all the parks. Come with us."

"Sure thing!"

"What do you want with that cuckoo clock?" Gage asked me.

"She's read about this place. Sierra! Know anything about that park over there?" I waved at the next wall north of us, past a bend in the stinking river. Whatever it was, the gate had been chained and boarded up, and I saw mines blinking in front of it.

"I couldn't get in there. That's the Safari Adventure! One of the newest parks in Nuka-world, it introduced guests to animals from all over the world including elephants, zebra, and gorillas, as well at the reptile house featuring eighteen species of venomous snakes!"

Gage was not impressed. "All of which starved in their cages when the bombs fell so what's it matter?"

I shook my head. "Someone would have let them out. Out of the people who worked here there would be someone who'd realize it was all over and come here to open the cages to give the animals a chance."

Gage and Sierra both looked doubtful. I'd forgotten for a moment that they didn't know I'm from before the great war. And Gage probably shouldn't find out. So I nodded at the fortified gate, which by now we were in front of though far back from the mines. "Clearly something survived in there."

"Yeah. Monsters." Gage saw he had all our attention and sat down on a garbage can to tell it. I took the opportunity to sit down too.

"Pack tried to take over that part of the park. Appealed to 'em. They caught that big monkey thing and dragged it out. Apparently there's more of them inside. Then one day a bunch goes in to stake out homes and don't come out. 'Nother lot goes to look for them and they don't come out. Then something does. Mutant deathclaw I guess, the face was different and the thing was tougher. Ignored bullets. If Nisha hadn't pulled out a goddamn rocket launcher we wouldn't be standing here today. So we chained the gate and set all that up."

"And thought the new Overboss would deal with it alone?"

"Nah, I figured we'd take this one last, after we had the Pack on our side. With enough meat shields and a solid plan we should be able to clear it out. The other two parks aren't as interesting but at least we know what's in 'em."

Gage stood up so I had to as well. We'd walked farther than I liked. "Lead on."

We turned and crossed a bridge. A party of slaves crossed our path, followed by an Operator carrying the control to their collars. They were hauling a couple of carts and the slaves spread out to paw through the weeds for empty bottles or paper, anything that could be reused or sold in the market. I hoped they wouldn't get too close to the bloodworms. The slaves looked at me with curiosity and I kept my face impassive.

Next was another walled park, not as fortified as Safari Adventure. It was over a bridge from us, and set over the river.

Gage said, "Dunno what it is, but when the river got bad all the mirelurks in it went in there. Operators tried taking the place but said it was full of 'lurks that glow blue."

Sierra burst out, "You don't know what that place is?! It's the true heart of this park! The source of all Nuka-Cola! That is where Nuka-Cola is made!"

"Lizzie Wyeth said she could maybe get production going again if anyone could spend enough time inside without getting eaten."

Sierra clasped her hands to her chest, transported by the joyful thought of more Nuka-Cola being made. Behind us Deacon coughed to hide a laugh. I took a few painful steps to push weeds off a sign. Bottling plant tours schedule. This really was where Nuka-Cola was made. I wanted to see inside. I wanted to let Sturges loose inside. I wasn't sure we could really start making Nuka-Cola again, but maybe we could bottle purified water or mutfruit smoothies, something.

Deacon leaned over the bridge railing and pointed down, "What's that?"

The rest of us came over and looked. A thread of liquid from a pipe joined the river, and in the shade it glowed blue.

Sierra gasped. "I've read about this! The bottling plant tour was on boats, boats floating on a river of pure Nuka-Cola Quantum! Could it be that river still flows two hundred years later?"

Deacon replied, "Better question: what has swimming in Quantum done to the mirelurks?"

"He talks?" Gage muttered.

I asked, "Do you know anything else? How many mirelurks there are?"

"One big one, a couple of the creepy human looking ones."

I groaned. A queen and enough kings to fertilize all her eggs. They'd be breeding like rabbits in there. "Great. You need to clean this river and the moment you do those 'lurks'll be all over the place."

Gage laughed. "Guess raider shit is good for something after all! Keeps mirelurks away! So that's that park. Operators had their eye on the Bottling Plant, maybe they'd loan us some guys to take the place if you can make 'em believe you've got a plan."

I could do that. Make a plan. Mirelurks can't climb so we could get in from the roof… if only I didn't hurt so much. I'd walked too far; pain was spiking all the way up my back. I wanted to lie down. Or take some med-x.

At least there was only one more park entrance, this one unpleasantly candy-colored. Even more smiling mascot characters stood outside. The gate was closed but not particularly fortified, and we walked right up to it. I grabbed the bars of the gate and pulled myself up a little to peek through. Some kind of little train, another ride buried in underbrush, and in the distance a Ferris wheel. "Ok, what lives in here?"

"Ferals." Gage said, "Just ferals, but they're strong and there's plenty of 'em. The two weird things are that they're painted up like Mason's Pack idiots and they don't leave this park. They'll carve you up if you go in but they don't come out. Way I figure it something's in there that can control them. You hear the story that smart ghouls can 'command their feral brethren' or some shit?"

I shrugged. I had heard it, but none of the ghouls I knew could do it. It was true that the Slog had the highest ghoul population of any settlement and got attacked by ferals the least, but nobody there could actually command them. Hancock had tried a few times, he said, gone out looking for ferals on purpose to test the rumor. He'd told me about those adventures on one of those wonderful nights in the Third Rail when half of Goodneighbor packs in to hear Magnolia and talk and drink until people start falling asleep on tables.

I pulled myself back to the present. "I've heard that. Never met a ghoul who could do it but maybe some can."

"Well something's keeping the ferals from busting out and eating us all. Dixie broke in and said something talked to her before she found a nest of ferals and had to run."

"I'll ask her about it. If there's something that talks maybe we can reason with it. Maybe someone who's not Dixie can reason with it."

Gage chuckled. "Dixie is an acquired taste I never acquired."

I looked at Sierra, "Anything your brochures tell us about candyland here?"

"Not candyland, Kiddie Kingdom! A world of flavor and fantasy for the youngest park guests! Kiddie Kingdom features rides for little people, our new Nuka-Cola sprayers, and hourly magic shows in King Kola's Castle!" Sierra chirped without stopping for breath.

Gage muttered, "Cuckoo." and Deacon smiled behind his hand. But my attention had been caught by, "Nuka-Cola sprayers?"

"Yes! Pipes spray delicious Nuka-Cola for guests to run through like sprinklers!" Sierra tipped her head back and mimed drinking the rain.

"...but your clothes! Sticky smelly Nuka-Cola all over your clothes!"

Deacon was laughing at me, silently the way he can. Gage gave me a minute to get past this unraiderish concern for clothing before he said, "Think the sprayers still work. Dixie said she got burned by some kind of acid rain. Maybe whatever's in there loaded the system with something radioactive."

"Oh great. Well I'm not going in today; let's get back so I can sit down for hours."

We walked, slowly because of me, back towards the wall around Nuka-town. I could see how the park was laid out now, the new zones added over time around the central road and river. Which must be manmade. "Hey, Gage. Tell me how the water works. Where's it come from, where's the clean water for the market processed..?"

I hadn't really thought before I asked and Gage gave me a look of surprised respect. "Well ain't you something new. Don't think Colter even knew water treatment was a thing."

"It better be a thing or the only place your guys'll be raiding is the latrine."

So Gage told me there was a water treatment facility that made clean water for Nuka-world. Traders had got it going before the raiders arrived, and Gage thought it could be beefed up to clean the river but he didn't know how. He also said there was a power plant up the hill that the raiders hadn't managed to get working. But Gage was sure it could be repaired.

This place would be an amazing settlement. Once we killed the hundreds of people living here.

After that thought I was done for the day. Ready to do nothing and talk to nobody. Thankfully Gage seemed to tell; he said, "We gotta make a plan—later? I got stuff to do." I waved assent and Gage headed off to do whatever he does when he's not following me.

Deacon convinced Sierra not to go anywhere else dangerous today. She was full of enthusiasm after finding a letter. "I've got two now! I guess I could try and figure out words with those two letters and look for more tomorrow. I am getting hungry."

Deacon and I rode up to Fizztop Grille, checked for traps and bugs, and then I got to lie on the couch and take a med-x and zone out. Or try to zone out; I dozed off and woke up after dark all sweaty from a nightmare, feeling sick and in pain again. Deacon was frying up something that smelled spicy and delicious and that raised my spirits. I limped over to the stove and said, "I am continually surprised that you can cook."

"HQ has a kitchen. Lots of us can cook. Glory can cook, Drummer Boy can cook. Tom should not be allowed to cook. This is molerat, by the way. Watched them cut it off myself." He dished it up half on a plate and half still in the pan, and handled me the plate.

I wanted to ask why Tinker Tom should not be cooking since there must be a story behind that, but instead asked, "So. What did you think about today?"

"Same as you probably. Avoid the mutant deathclaws, save the murderbots 'til Tinker Tom gets here, try and talk to whatever's in Kiddie Kingdom. If it controls ferals maybe it can keep them quiet long enough for one of the gangs to move in and then..." Deacon took a big bite of meat and I laughed.

"That would solve the problem. Sorry. I don't usually make plans to kill a lot of people. It has to be done but it doesn't feel good."

"I seem to remember you upending the Commonwealth to avoid killing a lot of people. I'll take care of Gage, when the time comes."

So I wouldn't have to shoot someone I've had a conversation with. "Thank you. That's… very kind." I said, hating the whole world for being a place where that was something a friend would offer in kindness and feeling grateful my friend had offered.