Chapter 2

Burke began looking forward to the girl's visits. Despite her obvious aptitude for getting things done and arriving covered in blood more than half the time, her eyes kept an innocence about them. The dichotomy was alluring. He enjoyed listening to her exploits on the radio, when it worked. He knew she was the right one for the job, but she ignored him every time. It was beginning to try his patience. Then she stopped showing up. At first, he feared something had happened, but Three Dog still reported on her regularly.

A storm raged outside and Burke found himself wondering if she was sheltered somewhere safe or if she was exposed out there in that mess. Shaking his head, he took a shot as the door swung open and banged against the wall. Out of habit he looked up to assess the patron.

Two people dressed head to toe in Raider clothes came in. One walked up to the bar while the other forced the door shut against the wind. The one at the bar ordered two beers from Moriarty and paid before pulling the hood off their head. Burke saw the red hair and knew before she turned around that it was her. Her companion pulled his hood off and accepted the beer, his eyes casting about the place with the same naive look she'd originally shown up with. He made eye contact with Burke and Burke grinned. A very pretty boy.

The boy leaned towards her without looking away from Burke and murmured something. She shook her head without looking and the boy turned away from Burke.

At least she's alive, he thought. But he couldn't shake the feeling of jealousy that crept up on him when she threw her head back and laughed at something the boy had said. Losing your touch, old man. He scrubbed at his eyes and poured another shot. He didn't have time for shit like that. Business mattered. Still, he found himself watching her go up to her room with the boy and imagining himself following her up there instead.

…

"It's time to part ways, Butch," Hel told her fellow Vaultie. They stood halfway between Megaton and 101.

He didn't seem surprised. They both knew he wasn't cut out for life out here, not prolonged life at least. Several times she'd had to talk him down from a panic attack when they were out in wide open spaces for too long. He'd once told her he felt like he was going to fall up towards the stars when they'd made camp one night. She'd had to lay next to him, holding him tight in her arms as he pressed his face into her neck.

At first she'd thought something might develop between them, but after a while she realized she didn't want someone she constantly had to take care of.

"I get it," Butch nodded, "I appreciate you at least bringing me close to home," he glanced behind her towards Megaton, "I'll know where to look for you if I ever decide to visit," he grinned awkwardly. They both knew he wouldn't. If they ever saw each other again, it would be because Hel came to 101.

"You ever gonna talk to that guy?"

Hel blinked, "What?"

Butch smiled, "That guy in the saloon that's always trying to get your attention."

"No! Why?"

He shrugged, "I think you should."

"Why?"

His smile was a little sad then, "Because he looks at you the way I used to," he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and turned to head off toward Vault 101.

…

Burke was more than a little pleased when the next time he saw her, she was alone. For once, she hesitated at the door, glancing his way. He gave his customary wave. She blinked and seemed to wake from a daydream. She headed to the bar and made idle chitchat with Gob as the ghoul poured her a whiskey. Stronger than her usual beer, Burke noted and turned to his scotch.

"Hey."

Burke glanced up to find her standing in front of him.

"This seat taken?" She waved at the chair opposite him.

"No, by all means," he managed. He'd rarely found himself at a loss for words and he rallied himself as she sat, "My, my," he grinned, "Just when I had all but given up hope. My dear girl, I am very happy to make your acquaintance," he held his hand out, "I am Mister Burke."

She slid her smaller but rougher hand into his, "Helen, but everyone calls me Hel."

"Yes, little Ms. Vault 101. Your reputation precedes you," he released her and looked her over slowly, "You are not a resident of this putrescent cesspool. That makes you a rather valuable individual."

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "It does, huh?"

"Don't you see? You're a free agent!" He tried not to sound too eager, "You've no ties here, no interest in this settlement's affairs. Megaton means nothing to you!"

She sighed and leaned forward, "If you've got a point, make it."

He grinned and gave a short chuckle. My how I'd love to teach you some manners… "As you wish," he tipped his head towards her, "I'm looking to employ an individual with no ties to Megaton, no interest in its future. Megaton is obsolete. The last vestige of a cobbled, desperate past. It needs to," he clicked his tongue and shrugged, "Go away. And you are going to see that it does."

…

Hel had noticed the way Burke looked at her, Butch was right, it was that same look of interest, of want. Her time in the Wastes had given her decent instincts on how to manipulate men that looked at her like that. She didn't want anything to happen to Megaton. Smiling sweetly, she leaned her elbow against the table and put her chin in her hand. She lowered her voice and tilted her head so that she was looking at him through her eyelashes, "I have a "proposition" of my own," she bit her bottom lip, "Would you like to hear it, Mister Burke?"

"Color me intrigued," he grinned and she had to admit it made him all the more handsome, "Go on…"

His voice was delicious. Maybe if this played out just right, it wouldn't be so bad… "You see, I live here, lover," she gave a little pout, "And surely you wouldn't want to hurt me."

Burke looked taken aback, "Well, I- I mean- Of course not," he took a breath and composed himself, "I must admit, I've never met a woman quite like you before." Hel smiled at that. Seeing him flustered made her want to get to know him all the more. His business suit and smooth hands marked him as nothing more than a pen pusher, but that voice, and the way he looked at her, it woke up something deep inside of her. "This…changes everything," he said, "I'm not sure what I'm going to tell Tenpenny," he said it under his breath as though talking to himself, "I'll think of something…" He glanced up at her, "You're not playing some game with me?"

She shook her head, widening her eyes innocently, "No, of course not."

He raised an eyebrow, looking unconvinced, "Hmpf… Perhaps…" a grin slid slowly across his face, "Are you free tonight, my dear?"

Hel shrugged, "No plans tonight."

"Excellent. Would you like to have dinner with me?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"The Brass Lantern serves…adequate fare."

"Alright," she slid from her chair, "Meet you there at six?"

Burke stood and shook his head, "What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't escort you? You're staying upstairs, correct?"

"Yes," Hel hadn't realized how tall he was, she'd only ever seen him sitting. He stepped closer and she had to tilt her head to look up at him.

"Then I'll pick you up at six," he took her hand and brought it up to his lips. He grazed them over her knuckles, "I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, girl," his eyes darkened and Hel felt heat bloom beneath her belt line, "I'm not the type of man to do anything half-assed, especially when it comes to a beautiful woman."

Swallowing, Hel nodded, "I understand," she breathed and cleared her throat, "I'll see you at six."

He released her and stepped back, "Until then, adieu," and he sat back down as if she'd been dismissed.

Please, please, PLEASE don't tell the followers of my Scar/Lion King fanfic that I uploaded this! XD Lol, Mr. Burke crept up on me recently and grabbed hold of my imagination. I don't know if it's the Fallout tv show leaks that I've been seeing that woke the bastard up, but here we are. Every waking moment of the past week has been devoted to this jerk, so I hope you enjoy this. I'll try and follow a similar upload schedule of updating once a month until it's finished, that way I don't completely abandon my other fanfic. This one should be done sooner though, so once it's finished I'll probably just dump it all on here at once. He's literally running laps in my brain! It's going to get pretty explicit, and I know this site sometimes removes those kind of fanfics, so I've registered for an invitation to AO3, just in case, and will upload it there too. If I can, I'll have the same screen-name I'll keep you guys informed. Anyway, fellow Burke freaks, here he is, back to drop bombs on us all.