Chapter 5- Grim Revelations

I screamed. Pain flashed up my arm as Ed's moonshine burned into the bite wound on my arm. I clenched my teeth as I watched it mix with my blood and drip into the metal tray he had set onto the table beneath it. He dabbed at the raw flesh with a wad of gauze, cleaning away grime and debris. He was doing his best not to hurt me, but with every touch, the wound blazed.

"Damn, that fugly really got you good," he observed, discarding the blood soaked gauze into the tray. "Don't worry, this moonshine here will kill any nasties," he chuckled.
"Ah, yeah, I don't doubt that," I replied through gritted teeth.

I wrinkled my nose at the potent odor coming from the Molotov; a mixture of moonshine and fish oil Ed had explained. Whatever it was, I was certain it could strip the paint off metal.

"I didn't know if I was going to drown first or be ripped apart by that bastard," I continued, wincing as Ed scraped out a last piece of dirt from the bite.
"He definitely gave it a good go. Well, it should be fine once we patch it up,"

I glanced at him nervously. "Ah, do you know how to?"
"Well, I'm no Doctor, but I have done a few stitches in my time. We do what we need to to get by these days,"

I continued to stare at him helplessly. Despite his assurances, I wasn't entirely sure if I should trust him with my medical care.

Damn it, Natasha, there isn't exactly a lot of choice here. It's either him, or blood poisoning…..

Great…

Ed dropped the wad of bloodied gauze into the tray on the table and limped off across the room.
"What about your leg?" I asked, watching him disappear into the adjoining room, partly to distract myself.

"Ah, it will be fine. We will take care of it after we fix you. It can wait, a mutant bite cannot. All manner of infections can come from that,"
"Yeah, I know. I've been bitten before," I recalled. "I could have lost my hand,"
"Hmm, that's a bad habit to get into," Ed joked.
"It wasn't by choice,"
"Well, now you have a nice set of matching scars," he smiled as he set a box of matches, a long needle and a spool of nylon thread on the table.

"I see you've come prepared," I eyed the needle nervously.
"It is not the first time I had to come to someone's aid, so don't worry. I will fix it up,"
"It's still going to hurt though isn't it?" I sighed.
"Yes, there isn't much I can do about that,"

"I could knock you out," Sam cut in.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him loitering against the wall near the door. The bastard was probably enjoying this.

"You asshole," I hissed. "Don't pretend you want to help now. It you had bothered earlier instead of leaving me for dead, then I probably wouldn't be in this mess,"

Sam huffed. "Don't blame me. What about your body guard, why didn't he help?"
"He was the reason I didn't drown, but you were closer, or at least you were before you ran,"

Ed frowned up at him. He had been quietly listening to the exchange while he disinfected the needle with the flame from a match.

"You left while she was being attacked by a mutant? Why would you do that?" He asked with disapproval.

"Hmm, yeah, Sam, why would you?" I glared at him. "You were trying to lose us, right? Or better yet, have us die in the process so you wouldn't have to bother with us,"
"You're bandits, you would have done the same if you were in my position,"
"No, I wouldn't. I don't just let my allies be devoured by mutants, even if they are self centered assholes. I'm not an animal,"

"I never said we were allies. You threatened me, remember?"

"Enough!" Ed yelled. "Right now, we are all allies. If not, then I will kick the both of you out and no one will get what they want,"
"Sorry Ed," I replied quietly, still seething.

I was beginning to question whether his help was actually necessary at this point. Surely we could fight Tom on our own. Or just do what Yuri wanted and letting them get away with what they did.

Then I remembered Senya and Mikhail and the promise I made them.

No. I would not let them get away with it.

I sighed and glared up at Sam while Ed threaded the needle. Our eyes locked for a moment in mutual hatred, before he turned away and strode to the other side of the room.

Only until we finish with Tom. I reminded myself as Ed prepared to suture the first wound. I grabbed the bottle of moonshine left on the table and despite the foul taste, downed half of it in one swallow. My head swam, but it did little to numb the sting of the needle passing through my flesh. I never was good at dealing with pain, so before Ed had finished the first wound, I passed out.

I awoke some time later to an American accent. I tried to suppress my irritation as I slowly sat up. After a few moments of disorientation, I realized that I was alone in the small room, lying on an old metal bunk bed against the wall opposite the door. My head and arm throbbed and I noticed the fresh bandage wrapped tightly around my forearm. I had to hand it to the old man, he did a good job.

I glanced around at the ugly brown couch and second bunk bed, finally fixing my gaze on the heavy red curtain drawn over an opening to a second room.

"So, what is your angle in this mess?" Ed inquired from behind the curtain.

I propped myself up on my elbow and slid off the bed, creeping over to the curtain to listen to their conversation.

"I just want to get home, nothing more," Sam replied earnestly. "And Tom said he would give me a lift,"

Nothing new there. I rested my back against the wall.

"Is that before or after you restart the nuclear war?" Ed sighed.

What?

Were they talking about Tom's plan? What was that weasel up to?

I leaned closer, listening hard, eager to hear more.

"Sam, a nuclear submarine is a terrible weapon. The Mayflower was entrusted to me to protect my country, not to be used in pirate raids. I never used it in the last war, so does anyone have the right to use it now, when we barely survived?"

Tom wanted to use the Mayflower? But for what? I frowned. I didn't like where this was going.

Sam's voice broke the silence and drew my attention again.
"Tom is a reasonable man, I don't think he would go as far as that. He just wants to unify any survivors he comes across and I guess his reasoning is that anyone seeing the open missile ports of a nuclear submarine, would be unlikely to protest,"

I almost screamed. There was nothing reasonable about that bastard. He was manipulative and it seemed he had worked his charms on Sam, just as I thought he would. He was more of a weasel than I thought he was, if he wanted to use the threat of nuclear warheads to get people to obey him.

"Tom is a business man," Ed continued. "He will get what he wants no matter the cost, even if that cost is further nuclear war. Don't you see that his offer to let those who won't follow him go, is a threat? What will happen to them if I choose not to get the fuel rods?"

"I think you are being too negative here,"Sam replied sharply.

I rolled my eyes. Tom really worked his magic on him. Or perhaps he was just so obsessed with getting home that he didn't care what happened in the process. I knew I was only a dirty bandit, but not even I would think about doing something like that. Hearing this only reaffirmed that he needed to be stopped.

"Okay, let's do it this way. I radio him and you talk to him directly," Sam suggested.
"Fine," Ed said icily.

I listened, glaring at the curtain as the radio beeped.

"Tom, Sam here. The Captain agrees to talk,"

Another beep then after a few second of silence, Tom's voice filtered through the radio.
"Perfect. Eduard, I'll be brief. I need those fuel rods, but you know that. You want your people, your settlement and your power back. I'm ready to offer that to you. As long as those reactors are full, my people will leave and never bother you again. I know you don't believe I'll never use the nukes, but you'll just have to take my word on that. You know I can keep it,"

"You have kept it, if we stretch the definition, but that is besides the point. Even if I believe you, I don't believe Klim. Did he tell you that he has bandits working for him?"
"What makes you say so?"
"I have no proof, but the friends I left with went missing and Klim and his men ambushed me. I barely made it out alive. They looked like bandits. Did he mention anything about my friends?"
"He said he was looking for them. I had my doubts about it for quite some time and now they're solidifying. Once the fuel is here, Klim will be taken care of. Anything else?"
"No. just that," Ed said.

"So do we have a deal?" Tom asked.

Ed sighed. "Yes. I know I will regret it, but we have a deal,"

I clenched my teeth. You damn fool Ed.

"You won't regret it, a deal is a deal. I'll see you soon,"

The radio clicked. I couldn't believe what I heard. Ed had agreed to let Tom leave with a submarine full of nuclear war heads because he wanted the settlement. I thought he was a decent man, but now I wasn't so sure. And Klim had bandits working for him. That wasn't surprising, those cowards would do anything to save their own sorry hides.

I was certain though, I wasn't about to let any of this happen. Tom would not get away with it. If Ed was going to help him even after being used, I would sabotage the fuel rods; somehow rig them to explode. Then, I would watch the whole damn lot; the Mayflower, Tom and all his mice, go up in flames. And if Sam or Ed got caught up in that, then so be it. They should have never been involved with Tom in the first place.

"Thank you for trusting him," Sam's voice broke me from my plotting.
"I don't trust him, Sam, not even a little, but I really have no choice here,"
"You have no choice," Sam agreed.

I thought for a moment. Ed didn't seem at all pleased with this decision. Perhaps I might be able to convince him to help me sabotage the fuel rods. We would both be free of Tom and he could have his settlement. It was a win for both of us. He would also probably know more about how to do it. When I got the chance, I would confront him about it.

A sudden clap of thunder from the new storm outside, made me jump. I was plunged into darkness as the lights cut out.
"Damn," Ed said through the gloom. "The generator on the roof is out again. Let's go check it out,"

I quietly hurried back over to the bed, sitting on the edge and pretending that I hadn't just been eavesdropping on their conversation. Ed pushed through the curtain as I rubbed my face, feigning disorientation. He held an oil lantern in front of him that cast shadows on his face.

"Ed, what happened?" I asked.
"Ah, you are awake," he replied. "The storm knocked the generator out, so we are going to see what we can do,"
"I'll come with you," I said getting to my feet.
"Don't push yourself,"
"I feel fine Ed, I need to get up," I followed them to the door, returning the dark glance from Sam

They were both holding bottles of moonshine and Ed weaved as he walked. It seemed they did more than talk while I was out. He didn't walk with a limp anymore either, they must have set his knee back into place.

"How long was I out?" I asked as we walked into a dark hallway towards some fire stairs.

"Ah, not so long. Maybe an hour at most,"

An hour. It felt longer.

"Well, thank you for taking care of my arm," I said a little embarrassed.

"No problems. How does it feel now?"
"It's burning,"
"Not much I can do about that I'm afraid, unless you want some moonshine," he offered me his half empty bottle.
"No, thanks. I think I'll live with the pain,"

Ed shrugged and took a long swig from the bottle and stumbled over his own feet as he reached a reinforcement bar door.

"You can't hold your alcohol, huh?" Sam jested.
"No, fish oil really isn't my thing,"

"Not mine either, but what can you do?" he took a mouthful. "Still disgusting,"
"You could not drink it for a start," I glared at him.
"There's not a lot of variety out here," he countered.

"You two argue like an old married couple," Ed added casually.

I cut off the reply I was formulating in my head and threw him a dark look. He chuckled as he threw open the door and stepped through unsteadily.
"Let's go fix the generator!" He bellowed suddenly. His voice boomed off he close concrete walls, making me jump.

I followed him out onto the roof of the building, a flat spacious area with chest high concrete walls. There was a small lean-to shelter with some old car seats, crates and a couple of grimy mattresses laid out on the ground. I eyed the decor with skepticism, but hurried after Ed as he made his way to the generator which was housed in a small concrete shed to the left of the door we came out of.

The rain was really hammering down now, drumming loudly on the roof of the shed. I shivered in the cold wind as Ed rambled drunkenly about something his Executive Officer did. He leaned over the generator with a ratchet in his hand and a few minutes later told Sam to pull a lever by the fuse box.

Nothing. The crazy man then kicked the generator with his bad leg and cried out in pain. What the hell was I even doing here? This was insane.

Several more minutes of rambling, tinkering and drinking, and the generator was running again. By now both Ed and Sam were well past being drunk. The rain had eased and I walked back out to the seats in the shelter as Ed disappeared into the building.

In his drunken daze, Sam forgot that he was supposed to hate me and half fell into the seat next to me without a second thought, almost knocking over the lantern on a crate. I frowned at him as I steadied the lantern.

I glanced around as I heard rattling bottles behind me, about ten minutes later. Ed stumbled onto the roof with a crate full of moonshine and set it down next to Sam. As if they needed more. I had long ago lost count of how many they had drank. Where had he stashed them all?

"Come on Sam, unwind!" Ed slurred, falling onto into a seat opposite me. "So, care to tell me your story?"
"Are you sure? It's a long one,"
"Ah, the night is long and who is going anywhere? Come! Tell us!"

"Okay, well, I'll have to start right back at the beginning, a few thousand klicks back in the Moscow Metro,"
I turned to him in surprise and before I could stop myself, I asked, "You came from Moscow?"
He nodded. "We had a train we named the Aurora that we stole from a faction called the Hansa, which is a whole different story,"

"So there were other people alive in Moscow?" I asked, suddenly interested.

"Yeah, thousands survived in the tunnels of the Metro and have been living there ever since. I would still be there too if it wasn't for that stubborn bastard Artyom trying to find radio signals that no one believed existed. He'd go up to the surface every day getting himself irradiated or nearly killed by mutants, just to see if he could hear anything. We all thought he was nuts, chasing after ghosts. Really grated on the Colonel, I can tell you,"

"The Colonel?"
"Colonel Miller. Back in Moscow we were The Order, a sort of military organization Miller started to help defend the Metro. Anyway, it turns out that Artyom was right all along. We weren't the only ones, obviously. Hansa had been jamming their signals and adding to the lie that Moscow was the only city left. So, we kicked Hansa's asses, stole the Aurora and made ourselves exiles in the process,"

"Why?" Despite my earlier hostility towards him, I listened eagerly, remembering what I thought when I first saw him fight Tom's men. He certainly did have a story I wanted to hear.

"Here's where it gets strange," he replied.
"Yeah, because it wasn't strange already," I said.
"That's nothing. They were under the impression that we were still at war and there were occupying forces beyond Moscow. Miller believed that the Government still existed and they were in a bunker at the foot of the Yamantau Mountains," he chuckled.

I suddenly decided I liked the sound of that, and I hated myself for it. Get a grip, Natasha.

"We weren't so sure," he continued. "We found no occupying forces, just bandits, but we had no choice but to keep going. So we traveled across the Volga and on the way, rescued a couple of civilians from a cult that worshiped a giant fish and found a local engineer and another train car," he leaned forward and took another swig of moonshine.

"And then Anna," he said, as if he was sober. "She was the whole reason we came up this far,"
"Who is Anna?" I asked, feeling a surprising amount of jealously boil up in my stomach.

Why the hell was I feeling jealous?

"She was... is, Artyom's wife," he replied with a hint of sadness, "She fell into a hidden chemical waste dump in the Volga, without a mask and breathed in a bunch of toxic fumes. I don't know how long she was down there before Artyom found her. It damaged her lungs and it slowly got worse. We were told that there was an experimental treatment in Novosibirsk that could help her,"

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry," I said feeling foolish. "It sounds like quite the adventure. So, there was no radiation there in the Volga?"

"There were hot spots, but it was mostly clean. There were people living there after all,"
"Okay, so what happened next, did you find this Yamantau bunker?"

Sam made a sound in his throat half way between a grunt and a chuckle. "Oh, yeah, we found it,"
"Not what you expected?" I guessed.
"Not even close," he paused, tapping the side of the bottle he still held in his hands. "Yamantau. How do I even begin with that one? You are not going to believe what happened there. Hell, I still don't,"

"Try me," I said. "What can be worse than what you have already said?"

"Well, it wasn't the Government we found, but a group of cannibal freaks that took Miller, Artyom and Anna captive with the intentions of eating them,"

"What?" I exclaimed.

Ed looked aghast, almost spitting out a mouthful of moonshine.
"Yeah, I told you, but it happened. I had to save their asses,"

"What the hell? That's messed up. How could someone eat another person?"
"Just pure madness. I'll never forget the look they had in their eyes. I don't get scared of much, but these guys turned my blood cold,"

"How'd you get out? Was anyone…well, you know," I asked, both horrified and morbidly curious.

"Nah, nothing like that. I had been left behind with another soldier-Idiot, yeah great nickname I know-and Krest, the engineer we found in the Volga. The others had been gone a long time and we all had a bad feeling about the place. It all felt wrong. It didn't seem like a government bunker, it looked abandoned for a long time. Something about it told us it wasn't what we thought it was, so Idiot and I went in to find our people. Good thing we did, they had Miller hog-tied on a big metal table about to slice him up,"

I gasped involuntarily.

Finally he met my gaze with a grimace. "The bastards were like a pack of hyena, all waiting excitedly for a scrap of meat. So, here we were in this insane stand off with these freaks, waiting for this damned elevator, bullets flying everywhere, and guys with axes throwing themselves at us. Anna had been dragged off to the sick bay by their 'doctor', so Artyom and I went to go find her while the others took care of the 'command'. Then we beat a hasty retreat back go the rail car under fire,"

After a short pause, he added, "There were corpses trussed up like some morbid butcher shop, with body parts and severed heads in jars lying around. I don't think I will ever get the smell out of my head," he trailed off as he took another swig from his bottle.

I stared at him in horror.
"You look a little pale," he observed, looking at me again. "Probably should have left that part out,"
"Yeah, that would have been nice," I agreed.

"Well, you have certainly been through a lot," Ed cut in with raised eye brows.

"I'm not done yet though," Sam drained his bottle and set it on the crate in front of him.

I listened as he described their journey to the Caspian that had become a desert and then on to the Taiga where there was a dam holding back irradiated water that was about to burst. Then finally they found the toxic city of Novosibirsk and a young boy named Kyril who had been living alone in the tunnels waiting for a father who would not return. After a long, dangerous search, they found the medicine for Anna, but the Colonel died of radiation poisoning on the way back.

I sat back in my chair as Sam fell silent. I watched him for a moment. It was a hell of a story to be sure. I knew it was true, as no one had that much imagination to make it up. He suddenly looked tired and I saw him differently. He wasn't the arrogant American jerk I first thought he was, he was a soldier who had been through hell and I could respect that.

"We set up on the banks of Lake Baikal somewhere and after we buried the Colonel, I knew I had to leave," he continued. "The others had their closure, they found their place, but not me. Artyom's crazy plan made me think about seeing my Father again someday, and by the end of it, it was all I could think about. It became my purpose and that is how I came to be here at the edge of Russia,"

"Why were you in Russia in the first place?" I asked, wanting more.

Ed's moonshine had him more relaxed around me than he had been since we met and I wanted to make the most of it.

"I was posted to the American Embassy in Moscow, and was lucky enough to be in the Metro at the time the bombs fell," Sam replied.
"You would have been popular after that," I said sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah, so popular that they beat me to a bloody pulp. I probably would have died there if Miller hadn't saved my ass,"

"You didn't fight back?" I shrugged.
"There were women and children. I'm not a monster and I couldn't really blame them for hating me,"
"But you didn't do it,"
"Yeah, but they just had American nukes dropped on their heads and wanted to vent their anger. I was a convenient outlet,"

I nodded. He wasn't a jerk at all, maybe I had it all wrong. Maybe.

"So, I became Miller's guard and he created the Order after that. Then we spent twenty years fighting bandits and protecting the Metro from itself, until we became exiles and well, I just told you the rest,"

"Well that is quite the story. Thank you for telling us, Sam," Ed slurred. "Have another drink!"
"Yeah sure," Sam took the offered bottle.
"And one for the pretty lady!" Ed shoved a grimy bottle enthusiastically at me next.
I wrinkled my nose. "No, I don't think so,"
"Come! Come! Have some respect for your elders,"

I huffed and reluctantly took the bottle from him. His grey eyes stayed on me, willing me to drink it. I sighed, taking a tentative sip. I almost gagged on the revolting, fishy after taste as it burned its way down my throat.

Next to me, Sam chuckled. "Yeah, don't do that. You have to throw it down. It's like ripping off a band aid,"

"Ah, thanks. Very helpful," I replied, frowning at the murky liquid.

The next few hours passed in a drunken blur. I managed to drink only two bottles of the wretched concoction, before my stomach protested. I had not had alcohol in months, after Andrei's batch at the swamp, made me sick for two days. I had been more than happy to avoid it. Now, the potent alcohol content of Ed's Molotovs, made my head spin. I steadied myself against the door of the fire stairs, trying not to vomit, as everything danced in circles around me. Ed stumbled up the stairs behind me, carrying an old radio blasting out rock music, which he set on the wall next to the crates. He fell heavily into his seat and garbled out a short conversation with Sam, which I missed as the urge to vomit made me rush over to the wall.

Damn you to Hell, Ed.

I wiped my mouth and glared at him. He weaved his way over to the wall at the far end of the roof to relieve himself over the edge.

Sam glanced at me over his shoulder and laughed loudly. "Ha, amateur. Have another one!"
"If you suggest that again, I will break that bottle over your head," I growled petulantly.
"Look at the attitude on you!" He went to stand up and caught the corner of one of the crates with his boot and stumbled. Bottles crashed over the concrete, spraying moonshine and glass in all directions.
"At least I'm not the one stumbling around like an idiot,"

"What? What's happening?" Ed made his unsteady way over to us, brandishing a broken bottle in front of him.

"Whoa, Ed. What are you going to do with that? It's fine. Sam fell over," I held up my hands.

Ed lowered his weapon and let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh, that's okay then! You need another drink Sam!"
"Yeah, that is what he needs," I rolled my eyes.

I looked on in mild amusement as the pair of idiots fell into a fit of hysteria, shouting and laughing at nothing. I wasn't about to let him live this down.

While they were busy making fools of themselves, a fugly, attracted by the loud, obnoxious music, climbed over the wall behind them.
"Ah, guys? We have a visitor," I said, gesturing to the mutant.

They didn't hear me so I reached into my jacket, pulling out my revolver that I had stashed in my belt. This got Sam's attention. He eyed the gun warily and was about to question me, but I gestured again to the mutant ambling towards us. They both turned and to my amazement, Ed picked up the broken bottle from earlier and started fighting it. I dropped my gun to my side, watching the spectacle. He wrestled with the creature for a few moments and somehow managed to corner it over by the seats, belting it over the head with the bottle in a shower of glass shards. He then started laying into it with punches and kicks as if it was some sort of punching bag. I kind of felt bad for it.

"You know Sam, you are a nice guy," he said to the mutant, even as he hammered it with punches. "But you have no respect for your elders. I mean, why aren't you drinking?"

I tried and failed not to laugh as he continued to pummel the fugly, while thinking it was Sam. The real Sam and I exchanged amused glances.
"Hey, Ed. I'm over here,"
The old man turned unsteadily to look at him. "Oh, you are…...over there too. I need another drink," he reached into the crate of bottles and pulled one out, sloshing it all over himself.
"Oh yeah, sure you do. What's one more?" I retorted.

For the first time, Sam smiled at me and I wasn't prepared for the flash of unwarranted desire I felt as a result.

No damn way.

I pointedly stepped away from him, distracting myself by watching Ed push the mutant over the wall and nearly fall over himself.

"Alright, sit down before you hurt yourself," I said, taking him by the arm and guiding him to the shelter.

"No, no, we need to drink!" he protested, thrusting another at me.

"I'm pretty sure you need to sleep," I took the bottle but had no intentions of drinking it this time.
"No, sleep. I'll sleep when I'm dead!"
"Amen to that!" Sam shouted, holding his bottle up in salute.

"You just drink that," Ed jabbed me with a finger, then promptly threw up at his feet.

I jumped back to avoid it. "Excellent," I groaned, turning away. While he was preoccupied, I emptied the moonshine over the edge of the roof and set the bottle on the table. My patience for this lunacy was wearing thin.

When Ed was done, I steered him over to the mattresses and shoved him onto the closest one. He fell face down. "Now that's what I call a party!" he yelled, although it was muffled by the mattress.
"Hell yeah!" Sam agreed, falling onto the mattress next to Ed. He nudged the old Captain, but received no response. I guessed the idiot had passed out. I shook my head as I frowned down at them.

Sam rolled over to look at me. "Hey, you're pretty hot you know? You want to join me?"

My eyes widened in shock. "You did not just say that. You're out of your damn mind," I said stepping around him.

I rolled Ed onto his side and when I was sure he was still breathing, stood up. I shot another frown at Sam before retreating to the shelter. I switched off the radio and stretched my legs out on the table, trying to get comfortable. I was tempted to go back down into the apartment, as the wind had picked up, but something made me stay so I could check on the pair of idiots. So I lay back in the seat and reveled in the silence of the night, gazing up at the chandelier of stars above me.

Next morning, I awoke to Sam yelling at Ed saying that he was blind. I rolled my eyes and walked over. I guessed my peace was over.
"What the hell were we drinking?"
"Oh, shh, my head," Ed groaned.

"Shut up, you idiot. You're lying face down," I jabbed Sam in the leg with my boot as I stopped next to him.

He slowly rolled over and blinked in the sunlight. "Who the hell are you calling an idiot?"
"And he's back," I sighed. "You. I'm calling you an idiot, because that's what you were last night,"
"Sh," Ed groaned again, as he tried to sit up.
"I don't remember last night,"
"No surprises there. It's probably best for you that you don't," I watched him sit up.
"I bet you enjoyed that,"
"Sure, it was fun at first, but then it just got embarrassing,"

Ed stood and retched over the wall. "Oh, it's terrible, but I feel better," he said.

He picked up a half full bottle from the wall and swallowed a mouthful.

"Here, finish this Sam. It helps, a little,"

"Oh, yeah, that's a good idea," I said sarcastically.

"If you say so," Sam took it from Ed and swallowed the rest.

"Now, while you are recovering, let's get back to our conversation from yesterday," Ed said.

"Alright," Sam replied groggily.

"Yes, I do know where the fuel is and it's not even that far. It's in an underground submarine base. The tunnels are half flooded, but they are still accessible. The entrance is through the Naval HQ building," He pointed off to a large ruin in the distance. "The radiation is off the charts there though, so I wouldn't even try without protective suits," he pointed to another building off to the east.

"That building there used to be a fire department. I know they kept suits there in case of an accident, but now it's overrun by bandits,"
"Yeah, the surrounding area is crawling with them too, but they are no friends of mine," I shrugged. "We might even be able to take a quick detour so you can make good on your part of our deal,"

"Now's not the time, Natasha," Sam growled.
"I think it is. You won't be rid of me until you do," I was rewarded with his usual glare. "And I can help you get those suits,"

"I don't need your help,"
"They might be too many for one person to handle," Ed agreed. "They are well established over there, and well prepared for trouble. It's not going to be a walk in the park,"
"Excellent, then it's settled," I smiled. "You're really in no state to be going anywhere by yourself right now, anyway,"

"Fine," Sam grunted. "The fresh air might do me good,"
"Good. You should take the stairs, down there, through the door,"

Sam started to head to the door.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Ed called after him. "Could you reload the traps? The mutants visit the place from time to time,"

It was as good a time as any to talk to Ed about my plan, while Sam was busy with the traps. I may not get another chance.

When Sam had disappeared through the door, I slowly approached Ed.
"Are you not going with him?" He inquired.
"I'll catch up," I replied. "There's something I want to talk to you about first,"
"Okay, I'm listening,"
"So, yesterday after you fixed my wounds, I heard you talking to Sam about Tom and what he intends to do with the submarine,"
"I thought you were asleep," he narrowed his eyes.

"Well, yeah, turns out that I wasn't. Anyway, I heard his plan and that you are helping him get the fuel for the sub in exchange for the settlement,"
"Hmm, I was wondering how you knew what we were talking about," Ed grunted.

"I'm sorry, Ed, but I think this is a bit more important than me eavesdropping. Look, I know you want the settlement back, but is it really worth letting Tom go, knowing what he could do with that submarine?"
"There's more to it than that," Ed replied. "Like I said before, Tom was using that as a threat. I don't trust him not to use them against me if I don't get him the fuel rods. I have them to think about,"
"It's something he would probably do, I agree, but if you make him believe you have delivered the fuel, then he'll leave and the settlement will be yours,"
"Tom will know if I don't get them for him,"

"Oh, by all means give them to him. Make him believe everything is fine, but if you rig up an explosive for them, you can deal with the problem for good and no one will have to worry about another nuclear war," I explained.

Ed was silent for a moment, as he studied me. Finally he said, "I never intended to let him get away with this. I know what that submarine is capable of and if I let it sail away, then I would have that on my conscience. I did not need you to tell me to destroy it. I came to that conclusion on my own,"

"What?" I breathed. "You were going to destroy it?" I could barely believe what I heard. I had it all wrong. Ed was a good man. I felt suddenly guilty for misjudging him earlier.

"There is too much at risk here," he said.

"On that we can agree," I nodded.
"Why do you care about this? Forgive me, but bandits usually only care about themselves,"

"You are right about that. No, I don't care about what might happen across the ocean, it's true. The only reason I came to you about this is because I want Tom dead. It's not just about turf anymore. He made it personal when he started killing and torturing my people. I know we are only bandits, but all we ever wanted was to be left alone and Tom made it hell for us. I think somehow, you could understand that," I sighed, feeling the anger rising in me again at the thought of it.

"We want it for different reasons, but in the end, we do want the same thing here,"

"Yes, it seems we do. I can see there is more going on with you, than you are saying. You are using Sam because he is helping Tom,"

I raised my eyebrows. "That's very perceptive of you. How did you guess that?"
"You two aren't really friends, I can see. I could barely even call you allies. You say you want his help with the other bandits, but you also know he is on Tom's leash. Having someone on the inside makes sense. It is manipulative and deceitful, but it does make sense,"

"Well, I never said what I'm doing was right, but they tortured and killed someone I cared about. I will do whatever it takes to pay them back. Sam was just a convenient means. I have to be deceitful. I'm not sure what he would do if he found out. I can't imagine him being very happy about it,"
"No, he wouldn't be,"

"The part where I want him to help with the other bandits is true. I have to admit that he knows his way around a gun," I said.
Ed nodded in agreement.
"Look, I think it can work out for both of us. Sam doesn't need to know,"
"He will have to eventually. He is the one who will have to pull the trigger," Ed explained.
"That's not a great idea, Ed. You can't guarantee that he'll do it. He's pals with Tom," I frowned. "Give it to me, I will do it,"

"I think he will see reason," Ed objected.
"But you can't be sure,"
"No, but things will happen very quickly once we get the rods. Sam will be with me when I hand them over and I cannot do it; Tom will know what we are up to. Tom will not let you within ten miles of the port either, so it has to be Sam,"

I nodded reluctantly. "Of course," I didn't like this, but we didn't have another option. "Just hope that he doesn't turn you in to Tom, or kill me for using him,"

Ed considered me for a moment. "He does not have to know that you were involved at all," he said finally.
I stared at him. "What? You're not going to tell him?"
"No. It may be deceitful, but I do understand why you are doing it. But know that revenge rarely turns out the way you thought it would. It is a dangerous game,"
"Yeah, I've heard that before," I sighed, peering out at the building Ed indicated earlier.

He nodded. "Now, we should not speak of this again. You should go and catch up. I doubt he will wait,"

"Of course. Thank you, Ed," I said, turning away.

I felt his gaze linger on my back as I headed for the fire stairs.