Spare Me | Fallout 4 John Hancock x FSS

The Good Mayor

Walking into the settlement, I noticed an odd amount of mercs and ghouls. Actually, the only place I've seen this many ghouls was The Slog. You see your fair share of ferals, of course, but I've only ever seen one or two ghouls at any given settlement. Some, like Diamond City, don't allow ghouls at all. Other than the interesting assortment of people, it looked like any other city-based settlement. The buildings were all too close to each other and falling apart, the streets and remaining sidewalks were littered with stray cans, liquor bottles and other various trash.

A pair of eyes caught mine as I tried to walk into the walled-in town. "Hold up, there," the eyes were attached to a bald-headed man in a leather jacket. He lit a cigarette and continued, "First time in Goodneighbor? Can't go walking around without insurance." The audacity of this man caused me to stop completely in my tracks and turn to face him.

With a flat expression and an attitude not to be trifled with, I whipped my gun out of its holster and pressed it against his skull. "You better back off or you're the one who's gonna need insurance, pal."

The man went pale and threw his hands up into the air, cigarette stumbling to the ground. "Whoa! Hey, fuck, alright. We'll just say your insurance is paid up for now, alright?"

I cocked the hammer on my trusty 10 mil, "For now?"

"B-by," he was sweating. I had to stifle a laugh. "By 'for now' I, of course, meant permanently."

"Fantastic." I stowed my handgun and watched the man visibly relax. I bent down, picked up the cigarette and put it to my mouth. Taking a drag, I turned to see a man in a red frock coat and a woman with an undone mohawk staring at me from the alleyway next to what appeared to be the old statehouse.

The man in the frock coat started toward us. "Whoa, whoa. Time out," once he was in the light, I realized he was yet another ghoul. "Someone steps through the gate the first time, they're a guest. You lay off that extortion shit."

The extortionist looked angry at this comment. "What do you care, boss? She ain't one of us." I rolled my eyes. Under his breath, he continued, "Besides, it ain't like she didn't have me by my balls." I stifled a laugh.

"No love for your mayor, Finn? I said lay off." The ghoul, apparently the ghoul mayor, took a dark tone to his voice at the last part.

"You're soft, Hancock. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, soon enough there'll be a new mayor in town." Hancock, I thought to myself, that explains the wardrobe at least. The mayor cocked his head at Finn before turning to me. I raised an eyebrow at him, simply intrigued by the situation at hand.

"Hey." Hancock was talking to me now, "Let me see that fine piece you were waiving around earlier, would'ya?" I furrowed my brow at the request before realization dawned on me. I once again took the pistol out of its holster and handed it over to Hancock. The mayor grabbed the piece and began examining it. "Now come on, Finn," Hancock turned back to the other man. "This is me we're talking about."

In the blink of an eye, the pistol was cocked, aimed against Finn's head, and 'BLAM'. The shot rang through the courtyard as the mayor pulled out a handkerchief and wiped down the barrel of my gun. "Now," he handed the sidearm back to me, "Why'd you have to go and say something like that, huh?" Hancock 'tsk'ed and shook his head. "Breakin' my heart over here."

I was motionless; eyebrows raised but otherwise expressionless. If I hadn't learned strict facial control from this hellscape of a wasteland, my mouth certainly would've been agape. I had never seen someone besides myself move so quickly in combat. Needless to say, I was impressed. And that was hard to do. "I know you had ol' Finn handled back there," the mayor turned to me once more with a cocky grin, "but a mayor's gotta make a point. You all right, sister?"

"I'm fine," I said deadpan, attempting to smooth out the cracks in my facade. "Thanks for taking care of him."

The ghoul eyed me up and down for a moment before giving me a mischievous smile. "Good. Now, don't let this incident taint your view of our little community." He took a step closer to me and my face flushed. What the fuck is wrong with me? Get your shit together, I told myself. The good mayor acknowledged the newfound red in my face with a wink, "Goodneighbor's of the people, for the people. Ya dig? Everyone's welcome."

I was able to momentarily collect myself, taking a drag from the dead man's cigarette. "Of the people, for the people, huh? Jesus Christ," my tone was thick with sarcasm.

Hancock gave a hearty laugh, "I can already tell I'm gonna like you. Just consider this town your home away from home. So long as you remember who's in charge."

"And if I don't respect brutish authority?" I smirked and took another drag from the cigarette.

The mayor was quick to grab my chin in one hand, "Don't be like that. I wouldn't wanna bruise such a pretty face." While I was still in mild shock from the speed of his actions, he grabbed the cigarette from my mouth and took a drag, himself. Once I got my senses about me, I smacked his hand away from my face and started to walk down the alleyway. I heard the good mayor burst out laughing, as did the redhead I was marching toward. I shoved her out of my way, which seemed to only make her laugh more.

I know there's gotta be a bar somewhere in this hell hole and I'm gonna fucking find it.