Fallout of the Heart

Chapter Twenty Two

"Well, well, well, would you look at that?" Jackson murmured, rubbing his grizzled chin as he contemplated a spot off to our right. Avery was too lost in his notes to look up and Lynn was standing ramrod straight, her glare not focused on any one thing as usual. Only Bryson made a noise, from his spot on the other side of the brahmin where he was currently tightening a strap holding the goods on its back. Once he was done he straightened, stretching out his back a second before moving around the side of the beast to stand beside Jackson, where he let out a low whistle.

"I'll be a son of a bitch, Hancock finally decided to do something with it after all." He commented drily, causing Jackson to chuckle and Avery to finally look up.

"Do something with what?" He asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. Wordlessly both of the men pointed, and Avery followed their line of sight. Since I finally knew what they were actually looking at as well, I turned to see what had drawn their interest, instead of just enjoying the landscape in general as I had been.

"The old Boston airport." Jackson responded, watching the area with a grin.

"Just another pile of ruins." Lynn muttered, and while she was grumpy in general, she had a point without even realizing it. I knew Avery wasn't going to say anything, so I did.

"What's so special about it?" I asked softly, earning myself another laugh as Jackson motioned for me to step up beside him. Once I did, I cleared the building blocking my vision, and I could see signs of people scurrying around the place.

"Do you see that massive rounded piece of metal there, that people are using cutting torches on?" He asked, and I nodded. "That used to be part of a massive airship, a blimp called the Prydwen. She was the pride and joy of Elder Maxson and the Brotherhood of Steel – until they pissed off the wrong people and the Minutemen turned it into a flaming, twisted pile of wreckage. Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people, too. You know how I feel about traveling during conflict, but I am kind of sad I missed this one. Heard the fireworks turned it into one hell of a wienie roast." He trailed off with another chuckle, then sighed. "I'm just surprised it took them a little over four years to finally get around to it – I've always said that would make prime settlement and trading post space." Jackson said, patting me on the shoulder.

Bryson snorted from behind us, and I turned to see an easy grin on his face. "Well, he is a very busy man, running both Diamond City and the entire Commonwealth. Unofficially, of course." He said, then amended when he saw the question on my face. "Officially it's a group effort between all the heads of all the major factions and a few others, but after the way everything went down with all that," He gestured to the airport, then continued, "He's the head son of a bitch in charge. And they don't let him forget it, either." He finished, his smile growing wider before he got the pack brahmin moving again.

I could have asked more questions, but I decided not to, simply trailing behind as the rear guard like I usually did. A few minutes down the road I spied a group of armed people heading our way, and my hand immediately undid the snap on my baton's holster, even as Lynn readied her assault rifle. "Minutemen ahead!" Bryson suddenly called out, his tone indicating they were a friendly group. I kept my stance loose just in case, but I didn't pull my weapon. Lynn didn't put hers away – but then again, she never did.

As they grew closer I could see that they pretty much all had the same type of outfit and weapons, though the man in front did look a little more formal than the rest. "General!" Jackson called out and I could see the look of consternation on the other man's face.

"Please, Jackson, we've been over this – it's just Preston." The man said, he drew close enough for them to shake hands. "You know it's only temporary." He added, a small smile flitting across his face.