Fallout 4: AR

73. No Plan Survives...

The next morning, Hancock gave us the details for our mission. "Thanks to my own diligent efforts, Nick's assistance, and your timely information, I was able to figure out who's been kidnapping Commonwealth residents." He opened a tin of Mentats and, when we declined to partake, crunched down two tablets before continuing. "It's a group of raider slavers, coming in from the west to carve out new territory. These bastards are a recent addition to the usual nasties roaming the Wasteland. We haven't been able to locate their home base, part of the reason we originally thought it might be the Institute expanding their operations," and he grimaced, a truly horrifying expression on his scarred and deeply lined face, "but now we know where the transfer point is. Place called the 'Roadside Pines Motel."

He stood up to pace his office, twirling his combat knife. "I want to send a message to these assholes- 'Don't mess with the Commonwealth.' You two are going to go there, wipe them out, and rescue their victims. These are the little guys, my people, and they have the right to live as they please."

"What kind of numbers are we looking at here?" MacCready asked.

"Honestly? I don't know." Hancock grimaced again. "We do know it's an organized group, so expect some serious resistance. Victims range the gamut: scavvers, farmers, traders, all kinds. They hit here a few weeks ago. Most recently ran an op against Hangman's Alley, ransacking the place and grabbing the headman's kids. I don't hold with that kind of shit, especially against children."

MacCready tensed up, his face growing stony. It was at this point I spoke.

"We'll get it done, Hancock. You can count on us."

"That's what I like to hear. I get the feeling they're gearing up to transport a shipment, so you need to hurry, ya dig?"

MacCready continued to be intensely silent as we crossed the Wasteland, heading west. Hancock had helpfully placed the motel location on my Pip-Boy, so it was only a matter of following the directional marker. We marched along in silence, weapons out and scanning for trouble. I kept an eye on my partner. He strode along with grim determination, obviously pushing himself to cover as much ground as possible. The few times I tried to initiate conversation, he replied with monosyllabic grunts and I soon gave up. When we stop for a rest, I'll see if I can get him to open up.

We covered most of the distance between Goodneighbor and our goal before having to stop for the night. MacCready was visibly struggling by this point, and I was no better off. It hadn't been all that long since our ordeal with the venomous insects, and my partner was still recovering his stamina. We searched around for a place to hole up, finding a mostly intact room in an otherwise collapsed building. The radroaches residing in the building made for decent target practice as well as a way to release the nerves that had been plaguing us all day.

MacCready disposed of the carcasses as I built up a small fire. Hancock had very graciously given us the leftovers from our dinner date and, using a scrounged pot, I was able to cobble together a decently edible stew. Once we had eaten, I scooted over to lean shoulder-to-shoulder against my partner, who was staring into the low flames.

"Want to talk about it?"

He started, giving me a sheepish look. "It's that obvious, huh?"

I nodded, putting my arm around him. "Talk to me, RJ."

"Slavers." The statement was so simple, yet held so much emotional weight behind it. Following my gentle guidance, we leaned back together and he snugged against me. "It's just..." A big sigh that ended in a very tiny sob.

"I'm here, love."

There was a long minute of silence before he spoke again in a low voice. "When I lived in Little Lamplight, there was a place called Paradise Falls. Don't let the name fool you, though. It was a stronghold for slavers. Every so often they'd manage to kidnap some of the kids. It didn't matter how many times I told them to be careful. Very rarely one or two would manage to escape. Most of the time they didn't come back."