Fallout - The Life Of A Hunter

In Sight

Logan had vanished with Avery long before Jared decided to leave Glenn's bar. He had hoped to learn more from Quill's radio, but he had returned to his usual useless garble after the story about the Enclave.

    Glenn's Den had an exit in the side of their building, in other words a hole, that went through to Ink Quill's tower, though even that entrance was guarded. A bridge constructed from wood and metal pallets had crossed the gap, and people frequently lined up to it. Most of them were drunks thinking it was another part of the bar, and a few just needed a job.

    Jared pushed through the crowd on the bridge, making his way, albeit slowly, to the steel door that marked Quill's workplace.

    "I need to see Quill," Jared said to the guards, who stared down at him. They were remarkably tall.

    "Name?" One guard asked disinterestedly.

    He sighed. "Jared, I've been in here twice before. I was on the radio, let me in."

    "Never heard of you," The guard remarked.

    "Hold up," The other said. "Yeah, he's the ghoul that was on the radio, remember? He got that big station and set up those Brotherhood guys?"

    The guard inspected Jared's face for a second, then retreated, apparently settled. "Fine, go on in." He slammed the door with his fist, and someone from the other side opened it with a loud screech.

    "Why does he get to go in?" A man shouted from the crowd. "We're tighter on caps than he is! Look at that gun, he's rich!" The crowd roared their agreement.

    "Get back," The guard warned, "before I show you a gun worth envying."

    The crowd quieted down, though they still mumbled their distress. While the heavy steel door closed, Jared heard a few remarks titling him as zombie.

    If the door hadn't been there, anyone who said that would have been dead on the spot.

    Quill rummaged through his shelves, looking for the right holotape. "I know it's here somewhere..." He muttered to himself. "Don't you worry, Jared, I'll get that map right away!"

    Jared sighed. He had come to Quill's office asking for the map of the region, specifically a map to Naitel's fortress, though from Ink's rapid shuffling of papers and holotapes alike, he hadn't found it yet.

    "Could you hurry it up?" Jared said, annoyed. "I don't have all day, Quill."

    "I'm trying," Quill said in distress. He pulled from the shelves with a frustrated huff. "I really need to organize this place."

    "Do you have anything on your terminal?" Jared suggested.

    "Of course!" He exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of that?" He ran to his desk and started to type on his terminal, searching through it's files.

    After several minutes of painful waiting, he finally proclaimed, "Aha! Found it!"

    "About time," Jared muttered under his breath.

    "Come here, come here," Quill said, ushering him over. "I can only play a few songs for so long."

    Quill typed on it some more, and a panel opened up in the back. "You've got a Pip-Boy, right?" He asked.

    Jared nodded and took it out of his pack. It was dusty from not being used for so long. He handed it over, it's latch jangling as it moved.

    Ink looked it over once he was holding it. "Why's there a cut here?" He asked curiously, gesturing to the latch. The head had been snapped off long ago.