Crossfire - Fallout 4 - [R J MacCready x Sole Survivor]

Chapter 3

"Oh c'mon, just leave it!"

Dawn paused what she was doing, her hand grasping at an empty milk bottle and a stunned expression plastered over her face. MacCready was standing in the doorway of an abandoned warehouse, obviously annoyed with Dawn's insistence of exploring the building despite the fact that previous scavengers had already most likely picked the place clean. After an hour or so of sifting through numerous boxes and drawers, there was nothing of value here.

"Don't make me carry that junk you're holding," he berated her like she was a child, and Dawn certainly felt like she was one. "Drop it and let's go."

With a stubborn huff she made it her goal to gather as many empty bottles as she could, the small collection in her arms now growing in size. MacCready gawped at her as she went on with her crazy junk spree and ignored him. He left the building, gesturing wildly in the air as he muttered irritably to himself. He stood outside for a few minutes, watching the sun begin to sink low into the horizon before he decided to light a cigarette and just wait for her to finish.

Stupid broad...

He didn't need to know it was Dawn stumbling behind him. Judging by her weary footsteps and the noisy clink of numerous bottles jostling amongst themselves, she must have hauled a Nuka Cola factory's-worth.

MacCready watched her as she began setting the bottles in a line on a nearby fence, balancing a few on top of each other and leaving a few on their own. After arranging each one in place she set her hands on her hips, smiling at the line of bottles in front of her.

She rummaged in her pack, pulling out a modified pipe pistol, and began pacing away from the bottles as she gauged a suitable distance to shoot them. Happy that she was twenty paces away, she faced the bottles head on and stood up straight. She raised her pistol, closed one eye and began shooting.

Most of them missed, much to his dismay.

Her magazine clip now empty, she reloaded it with the numerous pre-filled magazines already in her pack, and tried again.

MacCready shook his head as he took one last drag from his cigarette before he flicked it away. Dawn was too busy concentrating to notice the mercenary scrutinizing her every move.

"You're doing it wrong," he sighed in defeat. Dawn abandoned her posture and looked at him with confusion. He held out an open hand, his fingers making a beckoning motion to signify he wanted the gun. She placed it tentatively in his palm.

Without any hesitation he aimed the pistol and shot a bottle off the fence in less than a second. A small smirk ghosted his face when he heard her humph at his targeting skills, but he aimed once more and fired three times in quick succession. Three bottles shattered consecutively, and he gave a sideways glance at the woman next to him.

"Show off," she muttered as she accepted her pistol back. She aimed once again but before she could pull the trigger his hand gently pushed the pistol down. "What?"

"Put it away," he instructed. She did as she was told and placed the pistol back in her rucksack. MacCready crouched down and began picking up some pebbles from the ground. After gathering a handful, he stood back up straight and poured the pebbles into her hand. "Now," he said as he pointed downrange, "Hit the bottles."

Dawn looked at the pebbles in her hand incredulously, failing to grasp the logic behind this new exercise. "You gonna ask me to throw the pistol too?" She retorted, but after he gave her a hard look she chose to say no more.

One by one she threw each pebble, and was pleased that out of the twelve stones in her hand she had only missed once. MacCready clapped in mock congratulation and quickly ran over to the bottles to readjust and erect some intact bottles that had fallen.