Conquerors

Chapter 15

After breakfast Gage washes the dishes and leaves them out to dry. We get dressed and head out of the house into the shining mid-morning sun. 

I squint, using my hand to shield my eyes, the light making my head throb.

"Got a headache, boss?" He asks, spying on my wincing.

"Yeah," I admit sheepishly. Not a great way to seem tough.

"You're hungover. That's cute. Put these on." He says, slipping a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket, and extending them to me.

I take them, slipping them on my face.

"So, what's on the schedule for today, boss?" Gage asks. "If you need ideas, I have some."

"Like what?" I ask, peering over at him as we walk.

"Well, for starters, we gotta get the power back on for all of Nuka World. That's gonna be the easy part. The hard part is that we gotta get the gangs to get along." He explains. "We need to secure the park and assign areas to the gangs. Then we can move them in and get things moving. It's too crowded down here. You get them away from each other and they'll calm down."

We go to the market and go inside. The small space is full of merchants, and tables set up in a circle in the middle. Bridges cross above our heads, raider guards walking back and forth, their hard gazes on the metallic-collared slaves below.

"What's on their necks?" I ask, spotting a red blinking light flashing on a young woman's collar. She wears rags.

"Those are slaves. They are wearing bomb collars. Keeps 'em in line." He explains.

An older raider saunters towards us, a shawl wrapped around his head and shoulders, trailing on the ground behind him. He giggles maniacally.

I feel Gage's fingers curl around my bicep, pulling me close to him.

I gasped, startled.

"Stay close to me here. You're the Overboss and have protection, but you'd be surprised how often you need to use it."

I gulp, pulling my pistol out of its holster, just in case.

We come to a table scattered with various pieces of metal and leather armour. The scruffy man behind it looks up at us.

"Gage! Great to see you. And hello, boss. A pleasure to meet you." He says, holding out a hand.

"No hands on the boss," Gage says.

"Does that exclude you?" He asks, his eyes flicking down to his hand, still gripping my arm.

"Uh..." Gage starts, his face turning red, his eyes meeting the merchant's gaze. "I can do what I want." He slides his hand off me, clearing his throat as he takes a step back.

For some reason, his touch brings a slight sense of comfort. I am glad I have someone watching out for me.

"Anyway, what brings you here, Gage?" He asks, snickering.

"I need your best armour. Something new, fit for our new Overboss."

"Is this a custom-made piece?" He asks, peering over his cracked glasses.

"Yes. It's gotta keep her safe so it's gotta fit perfectly."

"I will need measurements then, sir." He says, pulling a stained, faded, taped measuring tape from his sewing box. He unties the small piece of fabric holding it together and lets it unravel. He holds it up with both hands, walking towards me.

"Hey, what'd I say about touching the boss?" He says, cocking his head to the side.

"Well, are you going to do it then, Gage?" The man asks.

"Um... I suppose? That okay, boss?"

"Sure, Gage. Just don't get too touchy." I say with a laugh.

He laughs, too, but glances away as his face turns red.

He follows the guidance of the armourer and measures my bicep, shoulder width, and torso height.

"Now I need measurements for her chest and waist."

I turn to Gage and hold my arms up for him to wrap the measuring tape around me. I've been to many a seamstress and I know what to do.

He clears his throat, taking a deep breath before wrapping the measuring tape around my breasts. He recounts the number to the man before moving down to my midriff.

When the man is pleased with his dimensions we head back to my apartment in the Fizztop Grille. We sit at the bar and run over our plans for the crews.

"We gotta clear out each area of the park and prepare them for the gangs. Then we'll assign a gang to each area. The more land each gang gets the happier they'll be. But give one gang more area than another and you'll fight on your hands. Afterwards, we need to go to the Commonwealth and take over settlements and assign them to gangs to get things rolling. That'll set us up for supply lines and get the gangs working out of Nuka World."

"What about the people living in them?" I ask.

"They work for us."

"What if they don't want to?" I ask with a gulp.

"Bullet between the eyes is the most efficient way to obedience, but it's not always necessary, so don't get too trigger-happy. We need them." He responds. "Plus, it'll get you trained and ready to take on Nuka World. You ain't ready for the beasts out there, yet."

"I know a settlement where we can start," I say.

"Sanctuary Hills?" He asks.

"Yes. It's perfect. We can send out a gang to start a supply line. The generator we set up is still there so there's shelter and power."

"Who we sendin' out first?"

"Have Mags send out some of her crew. They seem favourable."

"You got it, boss." He says. "I'll give orders right now. Do you want to go with them, or let them take over?"

"Let them take over. I got nothing left there, anyway."

"That's cold, boss." He says with a grin.

"Well..." I say, looking down at my fingers. "I wouldn't say no to having my house left alone."

"You got it, boss." He says with a wink. He steps onto the elevator, pressing the button. He gives me a wave as he descends. And then he's gone.

I sigh, resting my head in my hands.