The Not So Lonely Lone Wanderer Book 1

Chapter 14 - Reveal Pt. 1

The sun was merciless, cloudless sky leaving no protection from the solar burn of it's rays and the isolated clumps of trees with their blanched limbs did little to help. Two figures wandered down the hill towards the looming skeleton of what had once probably been a highway with bumper to bumper traffic so many decades past. Crouching, Chris scanned the expanse below, glasses lifted to rest on the brim of his hat while Hunter sat a few feet away, sipping on a bottled water. "See a thing?"

Dropping his hands, he snagged the bottle and took a healthy swig before handing in back with a shrug. "Not sure. Rain said there would be a processing facility near here if the old maps were correct but what I see is thick with raiders."

Passing the binoculars over, he dropped down beside his partner. "I'm not sure if we can take them all with the weapons we have on us."

Hunter's turn to peer down the hill with a much more serious bent then what most in the vault saw in him on a regular. "I think we can. I grabbed a half dozen grenades from Moira thanks to Rain handing over some of her contraband cache. Ammo's good too. We're just going to have to peel away the outer layer of assholes as quietly as possible."

"Then pray and spray? I don't know." Chris' focus was coming back in one piece with the proper parts, finding the female waiting for his return to be more of a influence this trip than others.

Hunter tucked the binoculars back in his pack, snorting quietly. "What, that tangle with Doc Talos making you soft?" Nudging Chris' shoulder, he indicated a stand of half dead trees and rocks. "Shade. Let's give them a few hours, when dusk hits they'll be more interested in fucking and getting high, easier to take'em out."

The pair settled down, keeping watch on their target but relaxing as much as possible while grabbing a bite to eat with a side of aimless chatter. "So, how's the doc handling you and Raina?"

Chris gave Hunter a side-eye glance before digging into a can of beans. "Not sure, denial maybe. He's not known for small talk with our type anyway and if Rain's with me he does a long route to avoid us."

"Dad's still mad you won't back off." Hunter snorted in amusement. "At least he's not openly opposed. You could be in deep with the Overseer if he wanted to push it."

Silent, contemplative, the other man just shook his head. "No, I think Almodovar would keep things like they are. Rain is better occupied and out of trouble."

Dark came soon and the two men melted into the shadows as they took up a high ground position above the location, Hunter with the binoculars, Chris with a hunting rifle culled from a previous trip. "Left tower thing, dude's over by the rail on the left."

A bullet pinged high and to the right, causing the target to look around in confusion, mind already spinning on some concoction . The second shot caught him in the throat and he fell with little more than a gargle and splatter of crimson on the dirty white wall behind him.

Hunter lowered the binoculars with a snicker. "Good thing he was high or he'd have alerted everyone."

Chris glowered then settled into position again. "If you'd like to do this....." He frowned. "Next target or I roll you down the hill as a diversion."

Chuckling, Hunter got back to business and the pair pretty much took out anyone left on the fringes of the plant. Moving down as quietly as possible, the rest fell in a hail bullets and frag grenade blasts with the two men taking minor damage, a couple of hits to the leather armor and a graze here and there to open limbs. It took the better part of an hour to drag bodies out of various buildings including the new dead and past what they felt was a safe scavenger line. By the time they were finished, the moon stood watch high in the night sky and fatigue dragged at both. Hunter made short work of barring the door, the heavy metal pole he found in a back closet more than sufficient to keep any other creature from making inside the dank interior of the water treatment plant.