Kendra stood in the light of the single open window in her room at the Water Street Apartments. The decrepit slum was just south of town, in the financial district skirting both Goodneighbor and the old Boston Commons. There, she waited patiently, cold blue eyes never wavering as she peered through the glass, watching her men gathered below with a stoic expression as they were joined at last by her employers sizable entourage- As prolific as Raider Leaders got, Sinjin never travelled with less than twenty men surrounding him at all times- and as they joined her own host, the seasoned assassin felt a rush of pride at the sight they must have presented. It wasnt often that they gathered in such large numbers, but when they did, it usually meant big things were happening...

Moments later, two men appeared at her doorway, escorting both Sinjin, and his right hand- another ambitious woman by the name of Avery- inside. The two sized each other up briefly before Kendra's shifty eyes came to settle on their leaders intimidating, Ghoulish figure. Like the Mayor of Goodneighbor, every inch of Sinjin's hulking body was wrought with damage from the ever present, unforgiving radiation that permeated the earths atmosphere- though admittedly, he was far less pleasing to look at than his younger, less combative rival.

"Sinjin." She greeted ironically. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Forcing herself to look unwaveringly into his blood shot amber eyes, Kendra was careful to show no sign of intimidation or weakness in the face of her boss- Like a wolf in the wilderness, he could smell it, she knew...

"Oh, Business, as usual..." He admitted carelessly in his gruff, growling voice. " I gotta job for you." leaning in abruptly, Sinjin extended one large, gnarled hand, gifting her a folded piece of paper. Carefully, she opened the contract with deft fingers, before skimming over the details.

"An assassination- Female. Name, Shelly Tiller..." She mumbled almost absently to herself, before looking back up at her boss with suspicious eyes. "...You marched twenty men through the Fens just to deliver a contract?"

Pleased with her powers of perception, Sinjin grinned, flashing her a set of straight, glossy yellowed teeth that somehow made his lacerated features even more terrifying to behold, causing the Assassins insides to tighten and churn with apprehension.

"She's a deserter, hiding out somewhere in the old national guard training facility- cant let her go though. She knows too much..." He explained callously, without any trace of real worry or remorse. "Your right though- thats not entirely why i came...Hear the Radio recently?" He prompted then, frightful amber eyes narrowing quizzically as he watched for her response. Broodingly, Kendra looked away from him, nodding silently to herself.

"Yeah...I have." She answered lamely, looking away from him as she swallowed the waves of rage and despair that had been threatening to drown her since she had heard the most recent news out of Goodneighbor.

"Some clown- This Silver shroud character- offed Wayne the other day...Word has it, AJ might be next. If he bites the bullet, its probably safe to say you'll be on the chopping block after..."

Looking back up at him sharply, Kendra seethed, raising her chin in defiance. "And? Let this shroud person come...Im not afraid."

"No- with Wayne gone youre the best field op i got left." He told her, knowing full well what she would do if left unchecked- after all, her ruthlessness was why he had sought her services to begin with... " Listen, Im gonna need you to get outta dodge for a bit- in the mean time, im putting Northy and Smiling Kate on retaliation- If Anything happens to our boys in Goodneighbor, your expertise will come in handy when we finally move on that Shithole Hancock calls a community."

"...I'll get it done." The assassin promised without real conviction, mind already made.

"Oh, i know you will- cos if you dont...well, lets just say the Shroud will be the least of your worries. "

Jaw setting, Kendra nodded a stiff affirmation to appease him as he studied her, scorching gaze holding her captive until he was satisfied that she understood her boundaries, and intended to comply.

"Good." He praised, turning away from her to signal his woman. "We're off than- I'll be expecting you to return to me in two weeks time with that bitches head- until then...Lay low." And with that, he was gone, marching back through the narrow archway to the hallway beyond with his goons in tow... Returning to her post at the window, the bereft woman watched him strut into the alley toward the head of the group, before ordering them onward toward bunker hill. Once they were out of sight once more, she huffed rebelliously before whispering beneath her breath.

"...Fuck you, Sinjin."

. . .

. . .

Audrey and MacCready waited until dusk, when the streets and alleys of Goodneighbor were cloaked in mist, and its denizens and drifters alike huddled around barrel fires built outside their improvised shelters to ward off the fall night chill, or sought refuge inside their perspective homes. The sound of laughter and music drifted on the wind around them, carrying through the windows of the old State house, and from the Third rail below as the local nightlife hit full swing around them, providing a convenient sound cover they had lacked before...

Cloaked in darkness, they made their way through the shadows toward the alley between the two recently cleared warehouses once occupied by Skinny Malones men, brushing passed a dirt covered adolescent as he made his escape from the drug den within, his score clutched tight in his fingers... Fueled by disgust, the righteous vault dweller stalked fearlessly toward the radiant lamp light illuminating the fog ahead, where she knew the dealer and his cohorts had set up shop-Only question was, how many would they face in this particular battle against evil? With Delancey, they had gotten lucky, catching him alone and by surprise.

This time, they might not be so fortunate...

Leaning casually against the brick wall at the back of the alley outside Bobby- No-nose's house, Aj looked up beneath the brim of his weathered news cap as Audrey and MacCready turned the corner, sending the three men posted around him on the defensive immediately. The dealer in question was short, and portly- of obvious Italian descent- dressed in a jean jacket and patched khaki's, with a hooked nose and beady brown eyes that raked her over objectively- the polar opposite of the tall, formidable young triggermen surrounding him.

"Hey, asshole- Keep your distance, and remember, We're not the only friends of AJ's here..." The closest guard warned as they made their entry... focused on her quarry, Audrey ignored him, looking pointedly toward the dealer as MacCready lifted his chin in defiance, squaring up with the man while she stepped to address AJ near by... The atmosphere was tense as they sized each other up, both faces remaining carefully masked.

"hmph...Get a load of this clown." He scoffed, straightening against the wall and spitting a chewed up wooden toothpick at her feet. " This is my turf, clown, and i dont appreciate- whatcha call em's...? Trespassers."

"You AJ, the dealer who sells to children?" She inquired fairly, allowing him the opportunity to deny the likely accusation. Eyes tightening, AJ shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest as he shifted his weight defensively.

"Yeah, thats me..." He admitted boldly, unrepentant. "Im uh, an entrepreneur- were making a new market. 'Chems for kids' i like to call it, heheh...Cherry flavored jet, bubble gum flavored mentats- them Diamond city kids just eat em up!"

"Yeah, im gonna need you to stop that- or you'll find yourself facing...The silver shroud." Audrey nearly winced as she spoke the name of her adopted persona, feeling slightly embarrassed when the faces of the men around her contorted humorously, and they began to chuckle.

"Uhh- who you say? AJ asked then, re composing himself after a fit of laughter at her expense. "Oh, for Christ's sake...Did Kent put you up to this? He keeps moaning about the poor little kids- what the hell, right? Tell ya what; I'll pay you, say fifty caps just to shut up about it...And maybe get Kent of my back, all right?"

"...For fifty caps? No way." She scoffed, insulted that they would try to bribe her, let alone low ball her...Close behind, MacCready listened carefully, waiting for his que...

"...All right, fine. Make it 75." The dealer bargained dryly, looking annoyed.

"A lousy 25 caps more?" She complained indignantly, almost laughing herself as a queer sense of wrath enveloped her. "Are you trying to insult me?"

"hey- 75 is a fucking gift...but fine, Ill raise it to 90 if you just leave me in god damn peace." And it was clear from his tone that his patience was running thin- the end of the line was fast approaching.

"No..." Audrey pushed, lips twisting into a wry smile as she pulled her freshly polished hand gun from the folds of her trench coat, brandishing it threateningly. The revolver glinted menacingly in the fire light, calling AJ's men to attention once more. "You dont understand...How much are you willing to pay to keep breathing, pal?"

"You, shaking me down?" He retorted haughtily, letting out a snort of derision before motioning carelessly to his men. "Waste this bitch."

Everything that happened next, seemed to play out in slow motion as everyone flew into action- first, MacCready shoved the butt of his rifle into the man closest to hims face, while Audrey leapt for AJ, grabbing him by his jacket and pulling her to him as she spun around, using him as a human shield as the other two goons opened fire, accidentally killing him themselves.

"Fuck!" the first man swore, dropping his gun as he instinctively held his broken nose, before shoving past MacCready, who had taken cover behind the corner while making a hasty retreat. Distracted, the young merc let the man flee, focusing instead on dispatching the two remaining men before they could advance on Audrey.

One shot to the chest blew the second man backward, and before the last could reload his weapon, the young vault dweller squeezed her own trigger, killing him instantly with a well aimed shot to the face as he let AJ's bloodied corpse fall to the pavement carelessly by her feet.

breathlessly, Audrey looked around, wide eyes meeting MacCready's as she leaned heavily against the warehouse wall. "Where did the third one go?" She asked, causing him to shrug through his own frayed nerves, before jerking his thumb behind him down the alley.

"I think he bailed."

"Good." She breathed, allowing herself to slide down the wall until she was seated on the blood soaked ground, drunk on adrenalin. " Cos I could really use a cigarette right about now..."

"Right- sounds good." he agreed, taking a few deep breathes to slow his own pounding heart, before proceeding to frisk the still warm bodies, retrieving anything of value off their person before shoving it all quickly into his pack. "Aight, now come on- we gotta go."

Feeling spent, Audrey nodded, pushing herself to her feet once more before tossing one of the faded calling cards from her pocket toward the body by her feet, and allowing MacCready to lead her back down the alley, away from their latest crime scene.

. . .