~oOo~
The jewel of the commonwealth they called it.
A baseball field they turned into a safe haven was actually a smart idea. And surprisingly it seemed to work for the people inside. After the Corvega plant we headed back to the settlement to tell the people that the 'raiders' would no longer be bothering them anymore. They thanked us and for once I saw a bit of hope in their eyes. The people asked if we could stay a while and help put up a few defenses, which was a good idea considering they were in the middle of nowhere and on top of a hill to boot. Using some of the sidings from the destroyed house we were able to get started on a wall that would eventually surround the place. A turret was placed in front of their shack that would allow them to at least sleep peacefully through the night instead of taking turns for watch.
After the settlers were set up we made another trip back to Sanctuary to talk to Preston about the job being done. He asked to speak to Adam for a moment and I walked off to go see how Mama Murphy was doing. They had made great progress with planting the seeds we had given them and putting up the start of the walls. Sturges and I thought about a wall that would encase half to Sanctuary, protecting most of the houses the remained standing. That way, if anyone were to attack, they would be forced to go for the front gate. Turrets would line the walls and protect the back area from surprise attacks as well. Sturges thought it was a great idea and said the once the wall was build he could start on improving the houses. We have placed a recruitment beacon up so that it would help draw in people looking for a safe place to live and it would eventually help Sturges when Adam and I weren't around.
As we were leaving Preston called out to us saying that there were more people to help out but we told him that going to Diamond City was the next on our list of things that needed to get done. We decided that we would go to Graygarden on our way then radio him once the job was done. He seemed fine with that and we swiftly made our way to the settlement of Mr. Handys.
Robots.
The settlement was made of nothing but robots.
Which I would be lying to say that that was the weirdest thing I've seen so far but the large hulking green dumb-dumbs carrying mini nukes was next on my list of 'what-the-fuck' did I just saw. The water plant the robots wanted us to start up again was not as hard as I thought but the crabs were once again a pain in my ass when they kept their heads down while moving towards us like tanker trucks. At least we found a lot of weapons and armor for us to tinker with. Adam seemed less worried when he was fully armored and equipped with a decent weapon.
It wasn't until we crossed into the city did we understand the hell that was unleashed upon the world.
There were raiders and dumb-dumbs everywhere. Small chunks and pockets of them scattered throughout the ruined city. Buildings that still remained were overgrown with weeds and earth. Some still had their doors and windows covered by the people who thought that it would help keep them safe. I wonder how many people are still hold up inside? Did anyone journey out or did the blast made their death quick and painless?
The three of us took any back alleyways we could to avoid most of the main streets where it was easy for us to get spotted. I could tell as we got closer to the baseball stadium, that the risk of getting caught was not as high. There were signs that said 'this way to diamond city' and arrows that we followed until we noticed guards were posted almost every two blocks. They were dressed in empire padding and masks while they carried assault rifles and shotguns. Turrets were placed in shopping carts that ticked from one side to the next as they kept watch.
"The doors are shut." I said to Adam as we approached the main entrance way. "Some welcome."
"There's someone standing over there. Maybe they can help?" Adam responded and I gave a shrug of my shoulders. As we got closer to hear what the person was saying, I noticed that it seemed we weren't the only people being kept out of the city.
"What do you mean you can't open the gate? Stop playing around Danny! I'm standing out in the open here, for crying out loud!" It was a woman in a red hair and trench coat. She seemed to be about my age but the look on her was worn. Was she born in this time? Or was she like us? She didn't have a pipboy on her.
"I got orders not to let you in, Miss Piper. I'm sorry. I'm just doing my job." A man's voice came over the intercoms box.
"Just going your job? Protecting Diamond City means keeping me out, is that it? Oh look, it's the scary reporter! Boo!" The woman said snarkily.
"I'm sorry but Mayor McDonough's really steamed, Piper. Sayin' that article you wrote was all lies. The whole city's in a tizzy."
"Agh, you open this gate right now, Danny Sullivan! I live here! You can't just lock me out!" She threw her hands up in the air and turned around to see us standing a few feet from her. Then this smile turned on her face. "Hey, you guys want into Diamond City right?"
"Well, that's sort of the plan. We're looking for someone." Adam said.
"Just play along." She whispered. "What was that? You said you're a trader up from Quincy? You have enough supplies to keep the general stores stocked for a whole month? Huh." She said a bit louder and mostly aimed it at the speaker box. "You hear that Danny? You gonna open the gate and let us in? Or are you going to be the one to tell crazy Myrna about losing out on all this supply?"
"Geeze, alright. No need to make it personal, Piper. Give me a minute." The man said and then there came the creaking sound of the gates being opened.
"Better head inside before old Danny boy catches onto the bluff." She said and then turned around to walk inside but an elderly man in a tan suit was waiting for her. "Shit."
"I thought I told Danny to keep that gate shut." The man said crossing his arms over his chest as he stood in the way of Piper. "You devious, rabble-rousing slanderer! The..the level of dishonesty in that paper of yours! I'll have that printer scrapped for parts." His face began turning red.
"That a statement McDonough? Tyrant mayor shuts down the press?" Then she turned back to us. "Why don't we ask the newcomers? You support the news? 'Cause the mayor's threatening to throw free speech in the dumpster."
"What newspaper are you talking about?" Adam asked.
"Mine. Publick Occurrences, and we're the hard look at the truth. So, are you with us or not?" I snuck a glance inside her head for a moment. Inside I saw the hardship, the anger, and the sadness. A male figure went missing and a small child clung to a younger version of herself.
"We always believed in the freedom of the press. Everyone has a right to it. It's in the constitution if I'm not mistaken or did the world ending finally change that?" I spoke up from behind my brother. The man gave me a sideways look and I figured if I go rooting around in his head too I could easily make him speak words that were not his own but what I found was….nothing.
There was nothing inside that head of his.
No thoughts I could hear, no pictures of the past, nothing that would define someone has a human because everyone has past and it plays out like a movie reel inside their head always. But the man?
He didn't have one.
"Oh, I didn't mean to bring you into this argument. No no no... You two look like Diamond City material. Welcome to the great green jewel of the commonwealth. Safe. Happy. A fine place to come, spend your money, settle down. Don't let this muckraker here tell you otherwise, all right?" A fake smile plastered his face and it scared me. If there was nothing in his head where did that smile come from?
"Well, this really isn't the best impression if you're trying to keep your new paper reporter outside of where she lives." Adam crossed his arms over his chest. Whenever Adam did that he grew five feet and stood teller than anyone else. With all his training Adam was someone you really didn't want to mess with. Although he really is a big baby when it comes to certain topics he's a lot tougher than he looks.
"He's got you there McDonough. Guess not everyone gets won over by that shark smile of yours." Piper said.
"*Ahem* Now was there anything particular you came to our city for?"
"My son is missing. He was taken and I was told someone here could help me look for him?" Adam said.
"Well, whatever you do, don't bother going to Diamond City Security for help," Piper muttered rather loudly, on purpose.
"Don't listen to her. While I'm afraid that our security team can't follow every case that comes through, I'm, confident you can find help here. Diamond City has every conceivable service known to man. One of our great citizens can surely find the time to help you."
"A mayor of a great city must know everyone. Surely you can point us in the right direction. " I spoke up and gave him one of my best smiles.
"Well, there is one private citizen that comes to mind. Nick Valentine. A…detective of sorts, who specializes in tracking people down. Usually for debts or whatnot. Now, I have to get going. I'm sorry Diamond City security doesn't have time to help, but I'm sure Mister Valentine charges a reasonable fee." McDonough said and I held back rolling my eyes.
"This is ridiculous! I want the truth, McDonough! What's the real reason security always shrivels away when talk of missing persons comes up?"
So the mayor likes to hush missing people away? That's rather odd.
"I've had enough of this Piper. From now on, consider you and that little sister of yours on notice."
"Yeah, keep talking McDonough, that's all you're good for!" Piper called out as the so called mayor began to walk away. When she wasn't going to get an answer she huffed before returning her attention back to us. "I'm impressed, not everyone can claw information out of McDonough's tight-fisted hands. Hmmm, why don't you stop by my office after you see Valentine? I think I found my next story." She said with a rather large smile before leaving us. Once she was out of earshot I turned to Adam
"What now?"
"Why don't we look around and see if there's a place to sleep? A place list this has to have a hotel or something like that if they have traders coming and going. We can find the detective afterward?" Adam asked and I struggled to keep the large pack on my back steady.
"If anything, get rid of all the crap you decided to keep. Did we really need to pick up almost every gun we found?" I asked him as we walked up the ramp that leads further inside the stadium. Dogmeat followed close behind us.
"Hey, if we can sell it we can get money for better stuff. Buy and selling is basic survival." He said with a smirk. "Besides, you're a lot stronger than me."
"Jerk. I'm not a…" I paused once we got to the opening that looked out over the field. "pack mule." I was shocked.
More amazed than anything.
Down below and up above there was a whole city living inside the stadium. Metal walk away led to homes living in the stands that were reinforced and cleared of the seats so people could live up there. I wanted to bet that that's where the mayor has his office set up. Even in a destroyed world people will always find a way to come out on top.
But down below was where the color was. People were shouting about their wears and how you won't find it anywhere else. Guards stand posted and walked the area and for once the outside world seemed like a nightmare. The people were peaceful and went about their day to day things. Children even ran past us as we made our way towards a vendor. We had asked him about the other vendors as we were new to the area and he was nice enough to explain where to get certain equipment. Thankfully, he was weapon vendor as he explained and I may have had a secret hand in getting the better deals when we sold most of what Adam picked up.
"Do you know where we could spend the night?" I asked as we wrapped up our transactions. I reached down and patted Dogmeat's head who looked up at me with those big eyes. A teddy bear was stuffed in his mouth. I was about to sell it but the way he was looking at it made me change my mind.
"There's the Dugout Inn run by two brothers. They may have a room or two available." The man said and we bid him good-bye.
"So, room first or should we go find this detective?" Adam asked as he slung his new gun over his shoulder.
"If you want I can go find him and you can get the room? Split up for a bit and then meet back at the weird noodle place?" I pointed to where people were sitting at a round bar eating what seemed like noodles that seemed to be run by a robot.
"Sounds like a plan. Don't take too long Eve, I'm actually starting to get hungry for a change." Adam chuckled and waved at me as he left, taking Dogmeat with him.
Finding the detective's office wasn't that hard to find really. Down one of the streets was a neon sign that did say Valentine agency. This seemed like things were looking up for a change. My only hope is that this detective would be able to help us find Shawn in all this mess. And who knows…
Maybe…
Big Mountain might have survived as well.
And so did the others.
Inside was rather small for an office. When I first walked in I was met with a desk facing the door and filing cabinets lining the walls behind it. A woman was in the corner, muttering to herself while she looked through a cardboard box. She wore a tattered pink dress and a sleeveless jacket.
"Um, excuse me, Ma'am? I'm looking for a Detective Valentine?"
"I'm afraid you're too late. Office is closed." she turned around, her eyes puffy and red.
"I know you must be busy but I just need a moment of your time. It's important."
"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude it's just that detective….he's missing."
"Missing? Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked her. If he was missing then the only other option is to get him back to help us.
"Nick was working a case like he always does. Skinny Malone's gang had kidnapped a young woman and he tracked them down to their hideout in Park Street Station. There's an old vault down there they use as a base. I told Nick he was walking into a trap but he just smiled and walked out the door like he always does. "
"I'll find him, I promise," I told her.
"Thank you. Nick should be easy to spot. He's always wearing that old hat and trench coat getup. Please hurry. My name is Ellie by the way." She said.
"My name is Eve. I'm here with my brother who needs Nick. We'll head out as soon as possible." I told her and quickly left to find my brother. Of course, I found my brother sitting down outside the Dugout Inn with the news reported Piper. She had a notebook in front of her and was writing as fast as she could from what my brother was telling her. "Nick Valentine's missing!' I said as I approached the table.
"Wait, what?" Adam said.
"I just talked to Ellie, his assistant. She said he went on a case and never came back. She told me where we could look." I said.
"Aww, Nicky what have you gotten yourself into?" Piper said and went to put her book away. "Where did she say to look?"
"Park Street Station."
"That's a pretty rough area. Raiders and super mutants are crawling all over the place there. Not to mention the Swan." She said.
"Super mutants? And what does a bird have to do with anything?" Adam asked, getting to his feet.
"You must've seen some on your way here. They're the big green things with the meat sacks hanging above their heads. And the Swan isn't a bird. It's something a lot worse than super mutants and raiders combined. You do not want to be the one to wake it." She explained to us.
"General, come in." A voice came from Adam's pipboy and I gave him a confused look.
"General huh?"
"His idea, not mine. Figured you wanted to remain out of the spotlight as much as possible." Adam said with a wink and I rolled my eyes. "Hey, Preston."
"We got a problem, General."
"What's wrong?"
"A settlement in the area is being hounded by raiders in your area. They gave the settlers a warning that they'll be back in the morning and they're bringing friends." Preston said.
"What do we do? We need to find Nick. Ellie made it sound like Nick might not be alive for much longer." I said to him.
"Can we afford to split up?" Adam asked.
"Are you going to be okay by yourself?" I asked him.
"He won't be by himself. I'll watch his back." Piper said and I looked over at her. "You take Dogmeat and find Nicky boy. Adam and I can take care of a couple of raiders."
"I do move after on my own you know. Dogmeat will be able to keep up." I told Adam and gave him a look. A look which meant that I can do a lot of things without Piper's eyes on me. I don't know if I trust her yet but we'll see.
"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" He leaned in close to my ear. "You promise not to let things get out of control?"
"I'll be fine, I promise. Sneaking was always something I was good at." I smiled at him.
"And blowing things up as well, don't forget that." He chuckled and turned towards Piper. "Are you sure you're ok with coming with me. You don't have to do this."
"As I said Blue, I agreed to watch your back if you gave me that interview. I can handle my own in a fight." Piper said. Adam turned back to me with a sigh.
"I guess that's it then. We head out right before dawn so we get to the settlement before the raiders. Eve, you take Dogmeat and make sure you're careful on your way to Nick." Adam said.
"I'll meet you two at the gate in the morning. I gotta get my gear in order." With that Piper left and we stared as she walked away. Adam and I walked into the Dugout and he led me to the room he had gotten for both of us. The two owners waved at me as we walked by and offered me a drink but I politely declined. Dogmeat made himself comfortable on the bed and Adam huffed.
"They only had the one room open. I hope you don't mind sharing a bed with me." Adam said as he knelt down to where our bags were.
"It would be like me sneaking into your bunk at Big Mountain. No big deal." I sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Dogmeat's ears…and pinched his cheeks. He's just so cute!
"Are you sure you're going to be ok with tomorrow?"
"I'll be fine Adam. If I start to lose control I'll just hide somewhere until I can calm down." I gave him a sideways look. "You didn't say anything to that reporter did you?"
"Really Eve?"
"Hey, I'm just saying. It's not really a good idea to be spreading around what I was before we were on ice. Saying we're from a vault seemed bad enough." I said, pointing to the blue and neon yellow jumpsuits we still had on under all our armor. I wish I had taken my suit before I left Big Mountain, that would've made finding detective Valentine a lot easier
"People look at us like we have two heads. And they want our pipboys for some odd reason." Adam said and sat on the other side of Dogmeat. "I remember reading about these being made. Everyone thought it was foolish but now that I have one, I kind of like them."
"They've come in handy. Keeps everything organized. Not to mention it helps me keep track of your radiation level." I said and Adam gently shoved me in the shoulder. " Now then, I want to get out of this armor. Do you still want to go to the noodle place?" I asked him as I started to remove the pieces of my armor. Thankfully I did bring a Nuka-Cola shirt and a pair of jeans with me to change into.
"Sure, why not. I might turn in early. It'll be nice to get some sleep without worrying about who might attack us in our sleep." Adam said and started to yawn.
"You look a little bit better now Adam. How are you holding up?"
"I'm sad and angry all at once but I can feel it start breaking off. I still have nightmares. Of Nora dying, of the war, of not finding Shawn." He grabbed my hand. "Of losing you. But I know I have to keep going, to find Shawn."
"I told you that I will always come back. You know that."
"One of these days you're going to break that promise. That I'm going to send you someplace and you won't be coming back. That I gave that one order and I'll lose you forever." His hand tightened. "What those people did to you…what they did to us. I hope they're all dead in this world."
"I would rather believe that a certain person is long gone. But I want to be hopeful that maybe the place is still standing and if I get the chance one day to go back, maybe there's something there that can reverse this." I wanted to be hopeful. I really did.
When they decided to break us up due to the war getting out of hand, they told us they had a backup plan for us so that no one would know of what we were. Whispers of a cure and of poison floated around Big Mountain right before I left. Only my group remained hopeful that not all of them wanted to see us remain like this. That one day the war would eventually end and we could have a few years of being normal people in society. On the flight to see my brother all I could do was either stare out the window or stare at my hands. Flashes of war, blood, and screams filtered in my head whenever the cabin shook. Sure, my brother was on the front lines and at times, I was there with him but….
For us little sisters….
We had seen so much more of the war then we wanted. Twenty years of knowing nothing but what we were fed and not knowing if they were going to toss us aside like all those outdated Mr. Handys. I wonder if that's why I made sure that all my missions were successes. That I got the job done no matter what because if I did my job then they wouldn't scrap me.
They wouldn't toss me aside.
Leave me forgotten about in some dank ally way.
Forgotten about.
I shook my head and cleared my thoughts. I had to remain strong no matter what. Starting tomorrow morning I'll be back on my own again, without my brother making sure my collar is on tight enough. I had to make sure that no matter what I could not lose control for there is no one there to keep me in check. Things could get very ugly and a lot of people innocent or not could get killed. As much as I hate to say it but there are days where I wish I would just lose control so someone who make the choice to just end it all. No more nightmares, no more worrying about losing control, and how no one would ever harm me ever again.
But Adam would be alone.
We still had Nora to bury and that will kill him when the time comes. I wish it was easy but I can't even begin to imagine what my brother must be feeling and he's hiding it as best as he can. That soldier in him won't allow him to crumble when a mission is in play. But after? The darkness will suck the life out of him until there's nothing but a shell of a man remaining. I can't do that to him.
I can do this.
I know I can.