FO4 | Book 0: The Diaries of Anarchy ✔️

April 19, 2259

I stood leanin' up against the side of the building in the alley behind ol' Nick's agency, smoking a cigarette and sharpenin' my knife on a whetstone.

Someone stepped into the alley with me, but it wasn't my usual dealer. It was Nick. He walked briskly toward me and tipped his hat.

"John."

I put my knife away and dropped the whetstone on the metal chair there behind the building. It hit with a loud clang. "Hey, Nick. What's happenin'?"

"Just wanted to check on my neighbor." 

"I live on the other side of town..."

"I wonder sometimes. Seems like you're behind my agency more than you're at home."

"Heh, you got me there."

"John, why don't you stop these chems you keep doing?"

"So you came here to lecture me, not check on me."

"Call it what you want. I just worry about you."

"Nick, I'm fine. I stay to myself, I have a handful of acquaintances, and my chems ain't hurtin' nobody but myself."

"You know, you would be a pretty productive member of society if you just buckled down at got an honest job."

I rolled my eyes. My job always seemed to be somebody else's business. True, I didn't have a traditional job, like workin' for the post office or protectin' a caravan, but I was making money. I had gotten a job runnin' chems to and from dealers in and out of the city. I was even makin' a little more than Guy was.

"You've got the look of a skeptic," said Nick with a chuckle. "I'll leave you be if you want, but I wanted to put a bug in your ear first. I know about the next deal you're making, and I want you to reconsider."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?"

"Let's just say if it was any fishier, it'd be Lake Michigan. Have you seen your friend Dominic in a while?"

"No. But he usually travels to and from Goodneighbor. Heard that road's pretty damn dangerous."

"It is if you don't know where you're going. But I know for a fact he was here yesterday."

"Well, yeah, he gave me this package to make the deal for him. Don't know why he didn't do it himself, but I guess he was in a hurry."

"Saw your man hanging around the square with a pocketful of caps and a smile on his face. Except that smile disappeared when a certain girl came up to him and whispered in his ear."

"Girl? What girl?"

"I believe you know her well. She's an upper stands citizen that goes by the name of Vivienne. Long hair, legs for days, and more holes in her arms than a tennis racket."

"Vivienne? What would she be doin' talkin' to Dominic? I wasn't aware they knew each other."

"Vivienne is a well-known chem addict herself. Her poison of choice is Med-X. Dominic is a trusted dealer. However, so is Vivienne's father. And with Dominic's prices being as low as they are, he has been getting more business lately."

"What does that have to do with the deal I'm making today?"

"I thought you'd never ask. My source tells me that he heard Vivienne talking about the deal between you and her father that's supposed to take place today by the docks in the ruins. According to them, ol' Viv is supposed to make sure this is your last drug run."

I waved a hand at him. "Nick, your source sounds fucked up. Vivienne doesn't look like she's capable of hurting a fly. And we have history. I can't say I know her father much, but Dominic doesn't get that much business. He's probably too busy workin' for the Railroad on the side."