FO4 | Book 1: Bombs on Monday Morning ✔️

Ch 8: A Detective for the Detective

I put on my Pip-Boy, shoes, coat, and sunglasses. Codsworth handed me my bag and graciously opened the door for me. We rushed out of the Dugout Inn, more than ready to speak to the detective. It was a little chilly outside, but another dreadfully sunny day. Everything was pretty quiet in the city as it was just reaching eight in the morning. I was hoping that Mr. Valentine would be awake this early.

I asked a pedestrian for directions to Nick Valentine's agency. he told me to take a right, go past the radio station and the drifter's camp, and I'd find it in no time. There on the side of the building was a bright, neon heart that read "Valentine Detective Agency."

It was identical to what Mama Murphy described. The heart was so bright against the dark alleyway. I got excited and ran right up to the door of the agency, Codsworth staying close behind. I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I turned the knob; it was open, so I let myself in. It creaked lightly.

Inside, a woman with dark hair pulled up into a bun stood at the filing cabinets at the back of the room. She wore a black vest and a pink skirt. There were two desks inside, one up against the far right wall and one close to the door with a chair in front of it. The office was a mess, littered with papers and cardboard boxes full of manila folders.

"HIs ties..." She sighed. "Oh, Nick."

"Ma'am? Is something wrong?"

"Another stray coming in from the rain," she muttered hatefully. She turned around to face me. Her brown eyes were sad and puffy as if she'd been crying. "I'm afraid you're too late. Office is closed."

"I know you must be busy, but I won't take much of your time, miss. It's important."

"You don't get it." She was completely stressing out now. "The detective is gone. He's missing."

"Oh, dear!" cried Codsworth.

"What? I need to see him! Can I help? Tell me what happened."

She took a seat at her desk and rubbed her forehead roughly. She propped her elbows up and held her face in her hands. After a moment, she looked up at me. "Nick was working a case. Skinny Malone's gang had kidnapped a young woman, and he'd tracked them down to their hideout in Park Street Station. There's an old vault down there that they use as a base. I told Nick he was walking into a trap, but he just smiled and walked out the door like he always does."

"Who's Skinny Malone?"

"I don't know much about him, but he's from Goodneighbor, and that means he's into well-pressed suits and the machine-gun school of thuggery."

"Goodneighbor?"

"Yeah, it's a tough neighborhood. Northeast a ways. People with power there care about two things: style and body count."

"I'll find Nick. You have my word. It's just as important to me as it is to you, trust me."

"Thank you. Nick should be easy to spot. He's always wearing that old hat and trench coat getup. Please, hurry."

She marked the location on my Pip-Boy for me. I turned on my heel as soon as it was marked.

"All this fuss over a detective," Codsworth complained. "I do hope Mr. Valentine is worth it, but then again, anything is worth the risk when it comes to finding young Shaun."

"My thoughts exactly. Let's hurry."

____________________

There was definitely no shortage of danger on our way to the old Vault. There were ghouls at the Dartmouth Professional Building, and the Mass Pike Tunnel was taken over by Raiders. And those were just the first two locations we passed. We still had a quarter of a mile to go before we made it to our destination.