A search for Vicky

Part One

His hand was damp from gripping the Ice cold Nuka Cola. Looking out over diamond city he was contemplating his next job. He adjusted his Mark 2 combat armour and got going. Nick Valentine had requested he followed a lead on a missing person's case; they had gone to Milton General Hospital to look for something.

The first part of the journey was relatively uneventful, a couple of rad roaches and a single wandering mole rat. These were dealt with using his scoped 44 revolver, no requirement for the 50 calibre rifle. A block away at the hospital it was required.

Hidden behind a rusty old Corvega saloon he looked down the scope. Two hulking super mutants were stood by the hospital entrance. No sneaking past them. One of the beasts was clearly stronger than the other as it was lugging around a 5mm mini gun. This could cause an issue if not dealt with quickly. He slowed his breathing and stabilised the rifle on a panel of the car and took aim. The savage crack of the high calibre shot rang out and the flesh of the mutants shoulder burst out.

'Shit.'

The mutants both turned towards the sound. The Forced Evolution Virus had made these monstrosities insanely resistant to damage. He was spotted, the smaller of the two began running towards him, it was carrying a large re-bar club. The groan of the cylindrical barrels beckoned to be taken care of first. He recocked the rifle and re-centred the larger mutant in the scope. The barrel was up to speed and started spewing a lot of lead peppering the area around him.

Crack.

The second shot from the rifle rang out and ripped through the flesh of the mutants forearm causing the mini gun to sway and send shots into the back of the littler mutant, this caused a minor stumble. Unfortunately the small calibre rounds had virtually no effect. He recocked as the hail of bullets releveled on his position.

Crack.

The shot tore through the face of the mutant, but not before one of the 5mm rounds hit the combat armours chest plate cause him to fall back onto the road. The armour absorbed the bullets momentum though still causing a spike of chest pain. As he lay he grabbed a Stimpak and injected it into his leg causing the pain to disappear and sending adrenaline steaming through his veins. The smaller sprinting mutant then appeared around the far end of the vehicle that had been shielding him. He quick drew his .44 and targeted the centre of mass amidst the 7ft beast. Three shots rapidly exited the revolver causing the beast to fall to the floor; inches away from his feet. He jumped up to survey the area as quick as possible, hoping they were the only threats in the area. The area was clear and he could begin searching the hospital for Vicky.

Vicky was a strong woman, short in stature but tough as anyone whom had ever drunk in the dugout. She would frequent that bar and with her distinctive coloured Mohawk and custom combat shot gun, she would stand out wherever she travelled.

The area was much like most of the wastes, dilapidated with small levels of background radiation. The mutants did not have a base around here and the lack of corpses outside meant that Vic most likely made it inside before they showed up. He approached the hospital entrance and entered cautiously expecting more mutants. The building was almost silent just the distant hum of the still working pre-war generator, clearly built to last in medical facilities.

He approached the reception terminal to see if any clues had been left on the system. Nothing was there; he would have to delve deeper into the facility. The place was a mess and had received large amounts of damage both when the bombs hit and in the many decades after the war. The facility appeared to have been picked clear by prospectors, though off to the left was a door that had been locked. Judging by the lack of dust on the handle, it had been relocked recently. Taking his bobby pins from the pack he was carrying, he skilfully unlocked the door. This was the administration offices; they hadn't been as ransacked as the rest. There was one working computer and after hacking in he found a clue, it was an e-mail stating that the facility was to receive a truck, carrying medication, the day before the bombs hit. He would have to search the highway as this was where Vic was most likely to be headed now.

He searched the facility for anything useful and headed off, an extra first aid kit and Nuka Cola to assist. The hospital was the near to the highway so finding the route chosen by the supplies driver was easy. The route would have been over the nearest bridge out of Boston. Knowing there was a raider settlement at the mass pike interchange he had been hoping not to travel this far from the hub of diamond city.