Deuces Are Wild

15

"Hey MacCready." Daisy said with a cheerful wave then she frowned. "If you don't mind me saying you're looking awful blue these days. Don't worry, I made sure someone writes up a followup letter once that Prevent gets to your farm."

MacCready smiled at her and Daisy went back to her display of goods trying in vain to make the dusty cans look nice. Arranging them, turning them so the label showed. She was sure she knew the cause of MacCready's troubles. True he was worried about Duncan but the real reason was more complicated.

He thought for a few minutes trying to frame the question to seem less urgent or obvious. "I heard the Brotherhood of Steel ran into some trouble."

Daisy chuckled. " Last I heard some gas bombs went off. KL-E-0 reckons some butterfingers set them off on accident."

"And this time it wasn't me." came a voice behind them. Daisy grinned.

"Diane! Long time no see. Here to buy out my stock of .50 cal and snack cakes?"

The General of the Minutemen pushed up her tricorn with her thumb, brown eyes twinkling behind dirty eyeglasses. "As always. More importantly- RJ, I got a job for you."

MacCready folded his arms and leaned against the counter. "Tempting, but I'm going back to DC soon."

Diane's eyebrows went up. "Does that mean you..."

"Yeah." He smiled.

She sighed with relief. "Oh Mac, I'm so glad. I'm so sorry I never got time to-"

He waved a hand for her silence. "It's alright. But I met someone who did."

Diane grinned. "Well who, I'm gonna buy him a round or eight!"

"She's..." MacCready floundered. "She's left."
Gone would have been more accurate but he didn't want to alarm Diane or Daisy.

"Left?" Daisy asked. "You mean that sweet little thing you traveled with for a while? Oh what was her name-once you get old like me you forget- I remember her face but her name escapes me- no don't tell me uhh, Kallie?"

"Yeah, Kallie." MacCready said as casually as he could but he still rubbed the back of his neck, pushed up his hat and scratched his head. He felt Diane's eyes on him and when he turned to her she gave him that look. That look that said 'we are going to talk about this later'.

He listened to Diane and Daisy make more small talk before he found himself back in the VIP lounge. Diane removed her hat and set it in her lap. "So," She began in her big sister mom voice. "Who is Kallie?"

Well Diane rubbed elbows with the Brotherhood. Maybe there was no harm in telling her. So MacCready told her everything.

"And the last thing I told her was 'have a nice life'." MacCready said, elbows on his knees, fingers laced together resting his forehead on the bridge they created. Diane placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You had no idea."

"No, I didn't. And now she's probably- she's-" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"We don't know that." Diane thought for a moment. " I might be able to get some info from a reliable source." At his hopeful expression she added "That's a 'might'. If it's sensitive info I might not be able to. I know Paladin Danse. He's not so much a hard ass that he wouldn't tell me. Just give me some time, okay?"

MacCready nodded dumbly. They both looked up to see Shannon in the doorway. He was dirty, miserable.

"MacCready?" He asked. Immediately MacCready was on his feet.

"What do you want?"

"I'm sorry. I just needed a familiar face."

Diane calmly asked "Who are you?"

Shannon looked from her to MacCready.

"This is Diane- don't worry, she's a friend."

"I came here for Dr. Amari but she wants to...she wants to...erase me. I can't do that. I'm too scared."

Now Diane rose from her seat. "It does sound scary. Far as I can tell you have three options-" raising a hand she held up a digit for each option. "One, you can stay here in Goodneighbor and like as not get a knife in the back unless you toughen up real fast. Two, you can try your luck getting to Acadia in Far Harbor, or three, you can work for me."

Shannon's confusion deepened. "Work for you?"

"Yes." Putting her tricorn on with a flourish she grinned at him. "Diane McKagan, General of the Minutemen. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He managed a weak smile, glancing at MacCready who shrugged. "What would I need to do?"

"Well," Diane began. "What can you do? Do you have any skills?"

Shannon wet his lip. "I learned medicine. I can dig bullets out, set bones, and I stitch nicely."

"A sawbones, eh? Well can never have too many doctors. Tell you what." She turned to Shannon almost excitedly. "Come with me. We'll head to the Castle and get you set up. Then we'll deploy you where you're needed."

Shannon nodded, then hesitated "But the Castle, that's near the airport. Won't the Brotherhood-"

"Don't worry about them. "

But MacCready didn't hear the rest of the laughing words. "Hey Diane, if you're going to Diamond City can you do me a quick favor? Just the next time you go."

Diane's grin dimmed at his expression. "Sure."

Taking her hand he placed a slip of paper in it. "Give Travis this. Make sure he plays it often. If Kallie is still out there, maybe she'll hear it. If not...I don't want anyone to forget her."

Diane's eyes welled with tears and the paper crinkled in her hand. "Oh RJ, that is the sweetest most romantic thing I've ever heard, read about or seen on TV. Of course I'll do it!"

MacCready managed a smile for her but his throat ached too much to say anything.

-

"Alright Boston I have a little something special for you." Travis 'Lonely' Miles leaned back in his chair, mic in hand. "So we're gonna try something called a dedication. For our first ever song dedication this song goes out from RJ MacCready to Kall-....is-to Zelling. This is Angel by Aerosmith."

-

The street lights were just coming on as MacCready set out, sniper rifle across his shoulders. Another night of guard duty another handful of caps. It was steady work, kind of boring but he got three square meals a day, a discount on booze and didn't have to sleep with one eye open.

He heard the muffled radio from a house. Pausing by the window he listened and sighed.

Like he did every night, MacCready sat up in the sniper nest chain smoking and thinking. Wild dogs stirred in the underbrush but nothing the turrets couldn't handle. Plus everyone was tired of dog steaks.

The first red streaks of daylight were his cue to leave. Maybe he'd ask for a day shift. It was bound to be more exciting.