New, NEW

Her hammering heart and the blood rushing through her ears were only minor details. Mary instead focused on Moriarty’s hand as, it too, was frozen in midair and as it slowly lowered back to his side. The flash of anger was still present in his eyes, so Mary refused to remove herself from the path to Gob. Slowly, the anger dimmed.

“Come with me, Mary. There’s something I want to show you.” He turned, heading for the back room door, and Mary hesitantly followed him.

She sensed someone behind her move. Moriarty rounded on them.

“Alone, lover boy.” Mary blushed, knowing he was probably referring to Eugene. Once she was inside, he slammed the door shut behind her and locked it. Mary tried not to show her nervousness in front of him.

“I should have slapped you for insolence.”

“You should be slapped for your cruelty,” she retorted. Moriarty continued as if he hadn’t heard her.

“But I like you— you’re just a nice girl that’s trying to find her dad— so I didn’t. Others, however, won’t be so forgiving.”

Mary glared as he searched through some metal crates.

“Brainwashing or no, I don’t know how things went in that Vault of yours, but I can tell you that things in the Wasteland are much different. Anyone else would have shot you for what you just did.” He turned to give her a gun— a scoped .44 magnum, he clarified.

“What’s this for?”

“Self-defense in case you decide to run that pretty mouth of yours again.” Mary took it, weighing it in her hands.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I had a daughter, once. She was headstrong and foolish like yourself. Got herself killed by doing something like what you did. And your father? He’s a good man— doesn’t deserve to be turned bitter and greedy like I am. Now, stay the fuck out of me business, and we can go on our merry way.”

“You can’t keep beating Gob,” she insisted. Moriarty pointed to the door.

“Go.” And Mary went.

She left the saloon with Eugene, and he asked her what happened with Moriarty.

“He gave me a gun.” She could see the confusion in his eyes, but he asked no more questions.

Mary was surprised and relieved at how relatively simple it was to diffuse the bomb. It was a simple matter of circuits, but Lucas Simms had been wrong. The bomb was still active and would have still posed as a threat to Megaton, especially if people like Mister Burke were lurking around.

Lucas Simms was beyond overjoyed at learning she had successfully deactivated the bomb— so much so that he awarded more caps that he originally promised and even gave her a house with a Robobutler named Wadsworth. He reminded her of the Vault’s Robobutler Andy.

The house was technically hers and hers alone, but Mary was not averse to sharing it with Eugene for helping her so much. She was surprised to learn that Eugene didn’t have a place to call home.

“But everyone here knows you so well.” Eugene shrugged.

“I’ve just never settled down. I’d always sleep in the Commons.” He paused, watching her pull something from her bag. “What’s that?”

It was a bobble head of a Vault Tec boy holding a syringe. For years it had sat on Dad’s desk as a memento of his contributions to Vault 101. In her escape of the Vault, she had grabbed it on impulse. Now she was setting it for display in her Megaton house.

“It’s my dad’s bobble head,” she answered. “He was the Vault doctor.”

Eugene only nodded.

“When can we leave for the GNR building?” Eugene looked uncomfortable by the sudden question.

“Soon,” he promised, and that was all he would say on the matter.

Two days passed in Megaton and Mary felt as though “soon” wasn’t going to be soon enough for her. She grew restless and impatient, then agitated and irate as Eugene spent the time talking with Moira or drinking with Nova Moriarty’s. When Mary wasn’t fiddling with her Pip-boy at her new house, she was sitting at the saloon too, passing the time with idle chat. Mary really liked Nova and her touch attitude— it was caring and maternal in its own way— but hated how she would change in the presence of another man. Gob was nice too and told stories about his life in the Wasteland and a place called Underworld, a small haven of a city buried beneath the ruins of D.C. and home to numerous ghouls that didn’t fit anywhere else.

“If you ever get the chance and find yourself there,” he had said. “Say ‘hi’ to Carol for me.”

Mary had nodded, hoping she had the chance to go to D.C. and not wait around Megaton for Eugene the rest of her life.

She noticed how Moriarty never seemed to lay a hand on Gob any more, at least what she saw. Mary didn’t think much of it until Nova pointed it out on her second day there.

“Hasn’t touched him. Won’t even talk to Gob when you’re around,” she said. “I guess whatever you said got through to him.”

Mary had smiled and as much as she was happy about Moriarty’s improvement, she hoped that she wouldn’t be there long to witness it.

Mary followed Eugene to Moira’s that afternoon, with nothing else better to do. Come to find out, he was peddling some new junk off to Moira.

“Where did you get that?” she asked.

Apparently, Eugene also left Megaton during the morning, scavenging around ruins to bring back to sell. Mary was furious that he had left without telling her, realizing there was no longer any real reason that stopped them from going to D.C. other than Eugene’s own procrastination. She planned to confront him about this after they left Moira’s, but as she leaned against the usual wall next to the scary mercenary, she knew that could be a while. So she leaned, fumed, and fiddled with her Pip-boy some more.

Then she noticed her Pip-boy had marked down the location of the GNR building.

She blinked and traced a line from the GNR marker to the Megaton one. It was a fairly straight shot— not that complicated. Perhaps she didn’t even need Eugene at all. She could just figure it out on her own.

The prospect of no longer waiting enthralled Mary enough where she was convinced that this could only be a good plan. So, she shrugged herself off the wall with a new sense of purpose and gave a curt nod of farewell to the mercenary and left the store. Eugene and Moira were upstairs, so she doubted that they would even hear her leave. And if they did, it made no difference to her.

She went to her house first to pack necessary thing— some food, ammo, water, stimpaks. Then, on a whim— Dad’s bobble head. But, she stopped and replaced it with the teddy bear.

She left the house with the intention of saying goodbye to Gob and Nova. She took the short route— passing by the once active bomb in the center of the town. She stopped next to it though, and tried to determine if the saloon was past the clinic or Mister Burke’s house.

—

Eugene descended Moira’s staircase, the armored Vault 101 jumpsuit in his hands.

“Thank you, Moira,” he said. She shrugged.

“It wasn’t a big problem. I was working on the prototype for a while before, and this gave me the excuse to finish it.” She paused. “Do you think she’ll like it?”

“Like it? I’m positive that she’ll love it.” At least when they left for D.C., Mary would have some sort of protection in the harsh Capitol Wasteland.

But at the bottom step, he froze.

“Where’s Mary?” he asked.

“The ever-silent mercenary jerked his thumb toward the door.

—

Mary was positive that it was past Mister Burke’s house, but walking by it made her nervous. She took a step closer and then heard the drunken slurs of someone nearby. She turned to them approaching her. It was dark, so she had to squint. Eventually, though, she could make out the details of Mister Burke’s distinguishing features drawing closer.

She tried avoiding him, hedging around the shadows, but he inevitably noticed her, even with his dark sunglasses.

“Well, look who it is,” he snarled bitterly. “Savior to Megaton. The Wasteland’s own Guardian Angel. How about a little bitch who can’t keep her nose in her own business?”

“What?” she said weakly.

“you heard me. Because of the gracious effort you did for this wretched place, Tenpenny fired me. Now I’ve trapped in this God forsaken crater.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “Ah, but I shan’t be bored— for the time being. Where’s your little protector?”

Mary reached for the .44 magnum Moriarty had given her with shaking fingers. Mister Burke easily knocked it from her hands before she was able to get a good grip on it. It fumbled to the ground a few away as Mister Burke grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it hard.

“Get… off me,” she grunted. She tried pushing him away from her, but he was much stronger than she anticipated in his drunken stupor. Instead, he shoved her to the ground. Her bag slipped from her shoulder, spilling some of its contents.

“Not likely, my dear,” he sneered, hovering above her. “You see, I wasn’t lying the other day when I said you were too pretty for Eugene.”

She scrambled, trying to crawl away or at least reach for her other pistol that had also fallen. Before she could wrap her fingers around it, Mister Burke had grabbed her foot and yanked, dragging her toward him through the dirt. In desperation, Mary began clawing at him.

An exclamation cut through the night, causing Mister Burke to drop Mary altogether. She took advantage of the opportunity and ran, gathering the pistols and taking cover under the porch of the clinic. She watched as another person punched repeatedly at Mister Burke until he fell to the ground, limp. With Mister Burke taken care of, the newcomer poked his head under the porch.

Eugene.

A mixture of relief, anger, and embarrassment all rushed through Mary at once.

“Someone has a penchant for finding trouble,” he remarked casually. “You all right?”

Mary didn’t respond and silently began picking up the things that had fallen from her bag. Eugene helped her.

“Going somewhere?” he asked after a few moments. Mary whirled around to see him holding up the teddy bear. She snatched it from him and blushed, thankful it was too dark for him to see.

“Yes,” she answered carefully. “I’m going to find my father.”

“You were going to leave? Just now?” Mary stared at him indignantly.

“I was going to say goodbye to Gob and Nova first and then leave.”

“Oh I see. And what about me?”

“You seemed rather busy,” she said, venomously stuffing the bear into her pack. “I got tired of waiting around for you so I decided that was just going to find him with or without your help.”

“Without my help?” he repeated.

“Yes. You’re not obligated to help me— I know that. My problems are not your problems. We’re practically strangers to each other, so I’m sorry if you’ve felt responsible for me. However, you are not.”

“Responsibly for you?” Mary glared again, annoyed with him repeating her.

“I can take care of myself.”

“I’m sure you can. You’re proven that well enough.” The sarcasm in his voice annoyed her even more. “But you really were going to just go off without saying anything to me? I didn’t think you would be that rude.” More anger— Mary felt it thicken on her tongue.

“Rude? My father has about a three-day head start on me. He could be dead for all I know, but you said ‘soon.’ We’d leave ‘soon.’ Yet you spent the entire time flirting with Moira.” Eugene was laughing, a dry humorless laugh, but a laugh nevertheless that made her even more irritated.

“You think that I was flirting with Moira?” he asked incredulously. Heat flashed through Mary’s face.

“I know that you said the two of you weren’t together and didn’t have any plans like that, but I’m not completely oblivious. What else is there way around for?” He continued laughing.

“You think… Moira?!”

Mary pressed her lips together in a hard line and didn’t respond. There was no need to elaborate on something she already stated.

“I think you’ve gotten this entire thing wrong.”

“I don’t care. It’s none of my business who you decide to chase after, or who chases after you for that matter. All I want is to find my father.”

“I don’t like Moira— at least, not like that. She’s been working on an armored jumpsuit for you.” This piece of news surprised Mary.

“What?”

“Don’t believe me still?”

“No,” she answered defiantly. “I don’t.”

He paused, deliberating. Then, to prove his point, he kissed her.

Mary was consciously aware of his hand that touched her cheek, his eyes closing with his kiss, but she felt completely stunned and unable to react. So, it was a complete surprise to her when Eugene suddenly stumbled back, clutching a red mark on his face. She blinked, and it wasn’t until her fingers began to sting that she realized she had slapped him, and slapped him hard, judging by the way her hand felt.

Her eyes were wide, and she found herself slowly backing away from him. He didn’t seem angry that she had hit him, but he appeared… repentant.

“Mary—” He reached out for her.

But Mary ran.

There would be no goodbyes for Gob or Nova, for she fled Megaton with Eugene yelling from behind her.

“Mary! Mary!”

Mary didn’t heed his calls but only ran faster away from the Megaton gate, from the Protectron that asked her to come back again. But she didn’t want to go back, never again. She just wanted to put as much distance between her and Eugene as she possibly could.

—

Eugene never caught up to her, but Mary had always been a fast runner. And it probably helped that the fate to Megaton automatically closed behind her. By the time he would have been able to open it, she would have been long gone, disappeared into the night.

She stopped when she came across Springvale, panting heavily. The skeletal structures of the burnt out houses seemed even more ominous and foreboding in the dark. Though, she knew it wasn’t safe to travel at night and this was the closest thing she had to shelter. Had she wanted, Mary could have probably located the small cave where she first met Eugene, but that would have been too obvious. It would be the first place he would look for her, if he even looked for her at all.

Instead, she picked her way through one of the houses, ash and cinders smudging her hands. Her eyes burned from the wind while running and with unshed tears.

No, that was silly. She shouldn’t cry just because someone kissed her— even if it was her first kiss. At least, she thought it was her first kiss. She didn’t remember being kissed before. All the same, she didn’t understand why he would kiss her…

She came across a porcelain bathtub, still virtually intact. She peered inside of it and didn’t see any radroaches or mirelurks… or deathclaws, and deemed it worthy enough to sleep in. She crawled inside, taking off her satchel to use as a pillow, and curled with the teddy bear.

She had been so sure that he liked Moira, because, well, it had been so obvious. It was the only thing that made sense. But, if he kissed her, then that would mean he wasn’t interested in Moira at all but was interested in her— Mary.

She frowned. Why would he be interested in her at all? They only knew each other for three days, and the only thing she was interested in was finding Dad. She wasn’t particularly concerned with romance. Never had been, if she was being truthful with herself. It was always just her and Dad, and Dad always said that men— men other than him— were really only after one thing. And he had assured her that that one thing was something females like her didn’t want. Mary never concerned herself with that idea, thinking it was just Dad being a protective dad.

Perhaps she had reacted so strongly to Eugene’s kiss because it felt like he was trying to take advantage of her— like what Mister Burke nearly did. It was an overreaction, more than likely, and Eugene probably didn’t mean it that way at all. Nevertheless, she was tired of being told she was a “pushover,” but she was even more tired of acting like one.

Mary sighed, feeling how her lips were dry, but she refused to lick them. She could still feel the ghost of Eugene’s against hers, and it made her stomach squirm with discomfort. So, she scrubbed her lips on the back of her hand, tasting sweat, dirt, and ash when she finally licked them, but she thought that was preferable.

She hugged the teddy bear tighter to her chest and waited for sleep.

—

Her back hurt. And her neck did too. It wasn’t until she opened her gritty eyes that she remembered why they would. Sleeping in the curved bathtub hadn’t exactly been a comfortable experience. She yawned, stretched, and sat up to find Eugene sitting next to her bathtub.

Mary froze, folding her arms across her chest. She knew he was awake— he said he never slept in the Wasteland— but she wasn’t going to initiate any sort of conversation with him.

“You’re up.” It wasn’t a question.

“How did you find me?”

“You weren’t particularly difficult to track down.”

“Well, what do you want? I already said you didn’t have to take me.”

“Am I not allowed to apologize?”

“Apologize for what?” she hissed. Eugene leaned his head back.

“Unintentionally keeping you from your father. Kissing you…”

“Well you’ve apologized now, so you can go away.”

“And what? You brave the ruins of D.C. by yourself?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll never make it past the wharf.” Mary climbed out of the tub, putting the teddy bear back in her bag before she slipped it over her shoulder.

As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t deny the truth of Eugene’s words. She had never navigated this hostile world of the Wasteland before, and he had… helped her on several occasions.

“If you insist on accompanying me then,” she said coolly. “Then you must be aware of several things. One, I am going to find my father as soon as I possibly can. I will not be waiting on you to finish talking to your lady friends.”

“Okay…” He looked as though he wanted to argue a point but he kept his mouth sealed shut.

“And two, you will not kiss me anymore without my permission.”

“Fair enough.”

So the two of them were finally off to D.C. Mary was excited but only showed it by giving Eugene the cold shoulder. When the skyscrapers came into view, Mary couldn’t help but gape at the austerity of the sight. She had never seen them in person before. They were both beautiful in their own vast, magnificent way and terrifying with their emptiness.

“Never been to D.C.?” Eugene asked with a hint of a smile at her expression. Mary snapped her mouth shut.

“No,” she scoffed curtly. She thought living in a Vault would evince that.

“We’re going to stop here and scavenge,” he said. Mary turned and saw the decimated sign that read “Super-Duper Mart.” She glared at him suspiciously.

“No stops— especially for lady friends,” she reminded.

“Not for a ‘lady friend.’ For you. You need to gain some experience.”

“What kind of experience?”

“Combat, scavenging.”

“Combat?” she repeated nervously.

Experiencing in combat turned out to be watching Eugene kill as many raiders as he possibly could. Mary had her reservations about killing— especially

Newest Section: Megaton and Moriarty

MEGATON

The doors closed behind them, and Mary noticed the tall, grisly man that approached them. Mary’s eyes locked on the huge gun he kept on his back. It didn’t match well with the warm smile he had on his face. Instinctively, Mary cowered behind Eugene who was annoyingly determined to show her to this man.

“Well I’ll be,” he said, drawing closer. “You must be from that Vault— Vault 101.” Mary’s eyes widened and she looked to Eugene for help, fear constricting her throat.

“H-h-how did you know?” The man chuckled.

“There’s been some talk, and your face says it all. Relax. The name’s Lucas Simms, town sheriff and mayor too— if the occasion calls for it.” Inexplicably, his introduction soothed her nerves. A sheriff wouldn’t hurt her.

“I’m Mary. How do you do?” His smile broadened.

“Friendly and well-mannered. I think we’re going to get along just fine.” She mustered a small smiled. “What can I do for you, Miss Mary?”

“I’m looking for my father— he’s middle-aged. Goes by James. Have you seen him?” Lucas stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen any visitors here lately. Sorry, kid.”

Mary became visibly discouraged, shoulders falling and head bowing in dismay. She swallowed past a dry prick in her throat, fighting back tears— if Dad wasn’t here, where could he be? She didn’t know the Wasteland, or where he could be going. She felt defeated. Then, Eugene spoke.

“How’s the bomb?” he asked Lucas, who appeared uncomfortable with the subject.

“Hasn’t been touched. But,” he said when he saw the panic flash through Mary’s face. “It hasn’t hurt anything in over two hundred years. I’m sure it’s dead. Completely harmless.” Mary wasn’t an expert on explosives, but she knew a few things from diffusing several of Butch’s creations. She knew, though, an inactive bomb didn’t mean a harmless one.

“I could take a look at it for you, if you like,” she offered. Lucas studied her through narrowed eyes.

“I don’t normally let anyone around that thing, but I think I could trust you. If you’re sure about it, I suppose I could make an exception. There’s a reward in it— one hundred caps.”

“I couldn’t—” She had been about to protest accepting the reward when Eugene silenced her with a nudge to the ribs.

“And come to think of it, I do remember a stranger passing through here the other day. He stopped by the saloon for a while, so Colin would know more. But be careful, the man only cares about himself. Good luck to you.” Lucas left them to return to his patrol, whistling a tune Mary didn’t recognize.

But she wasn’t too concerned with his whistling. Dad had quite possibly come through here, which meant she was closer to finding him. The excitement left her giddy and slightly breathless.

“I don’t understand,” Mary said, turning back to Eugene. “If he already knew about the stranger, why didn’t he just tell me?” Eugene’s eyes darted around, and he steered her toward the outer wall.

“Sometimes, Mary,” he said in a low voice. “Information and services are far more valuable than caps. Understand?”

Mary nodded slowly, though she wasn’t entirely sure if she understood or not. “Do know the Colin he was talking about?”

“Unfortunately. Simms may think he’s the sheriff, but it’s actually Moriarty that controls everything. He always has a hand in everything around here. Just be careful with what you say around him.” Mary nodded again. “But first, we’re going to stop by Moira’s.”

“Who’s Moira?”

Moira turned out to be the slightly air-headed, slightly eccentric owned of Craterside Supply, her store where she bought, traded, sold, and repaired just about everything imaginable. It was there that Mary sold some of the things she took with her from the Vault— jumpsuits (because Moira had a penchant for Vault Tech items), pre-war money, and various scrap metals in exchange for some caps, ammo, and stimpaks— because apparently, it was rather fashionable to get shot in the Capitol Wasteland. Eugene helped her with the transactions.

When she was putting away her spoils, something on one of the back shelves caught Mary’s eye.

“How much for that?” she asked, pointing. Moira and Eugene followed her gaze and turned to look at a teddy bear Moira had. Eugene was dubious.

“You can’t really carry that much extra weight into the Wastelands—”

“I know,” Mary said shortly, cutting him off. The bear was almost exactly identical to the one she had as a child. But then the Overseer decided that eight year olds were too old for childish toys.

Moira smiled kindly and gave it to Mary for free, who placed it carefully into her bag. She wasn’t sure why she wanted it, even if for sentimental reasons— she never had any particular attachment to her previous teddy bear.

If she was being honest with herself, thought, it reminded her of Dad.

Then, she was waiting— waiting to go speak to Colin Moriarty. However, Eugene and Moira spoke to each other for a very long time. Mary tried waiting patiently against the opposite wall, next to an intimidating mercenary Moira hired to protect her merchandise. Mary briefly looked up at him, deliberating whether or not to likewise initiate conversation, but instantly decided against it. He didn’t look the type to be very interested in conversation, so Mary settled on listening to Moira’s and Eugene’s.

They were friends— that much was obvious. Moira asked about Eugene’s travels and how long he’d planned to stay in Megaton. Mary didn’t recognize the names he rattled off, but he confirmed to Moira that he wasn’t staying long.

“I’m going to be her guide,” Eugene said, vaguely gesturing to where Mary was standing, his back to her. Moira craned over Eugene’s shoulder to look— as if she hadn’t seen Mary in the first place and only just realized she was there.

But then, Moira did something strange. She smiled at Mary, a strange smile that was sad and sympathetic. Her gaze was penetrating— as if she knew about Mary’s plight and the emotional pain she’d been trying to keep in check. Mary pressed her lips together and turned away.

She preoccupied herself by feigning interest in the various odds and ends Moira had on her shelves for display. Mary didn’t recognize most of it but wondered at the usefulness of turpentine.

Moira started talking about some sort of book she was writing— a survival guide for the Wasteland. Apparently, Mary reminded her of it, because the book was designated for those inexperienced and needing to survive. Mary wasn’t sure how she felt about that insinuation, so she tried distracting herself by examining a rusted toy car and a broken wonderglobe. She wondered why Moira had so much junk.

“The first chapter’s on finding food and medical supplies, but I need someone to test my theories. The idea is to forage for from in old stores and markets. I think Super-Duper Mart would be an ideal place to look,” Moira explained. Mary didn’t know Eugene’s reaction, but he didn’t sound as excited about the project as Moira.

The place is crawling with raiders.” Mary carefully turned to see Moira’s response.

“Oh, well, I mean— I wouldn’t want you to scout out the place for me, then. I’d hate if it you risked your life and got yourself killed on my account.”

Mary couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. The way Moira talked about Eugene’s life was too casual, almost careless. She’d heard the same sort of tone from Amata, when she was trying to get what she wanted. And, Mary was a girl, so she usually knew when other girls were flirting. Perhaps they were more than friends, then. Or maybe Moira just over-romanticized the idea of Eugene risking his life to make her happy.

“I’m sure it wouldn’t be that big of a deal,” Eugene answered.

Mary turned her back to them, shoulders stiff. It was that moment that she had grown impatient. Maybe she had expected too much of Eugene to be her guide, but Mary didn’t like standing around to wait while they blushed and made each other laugh. Dad could still be in Megaton or at least close by. They were wasting time.

She braved another glance up at the mercenary, wondering if the other two acted this all the time or if they were being particularly rude when she was in a hurry. However, the mercenary’s stony expression divulged no sort of answer, so Mary quickly looked back at the ground before he could catch her staring.

At last, Eugene announced they had to leave. Mary was already at the door before Moira could express her disappointment. When they were outside, Mary felt the instant drain of the sun’s heat beating down on her skin. She didn’t like it, and as they were circling around the length of Megaton to head for the saloon, she found herself longing for the chilled atmosphere of the Vault.

“Is she your girlfriend?” Mary asked suddenly. Eugene seemed surprised— and confused, she noticed— by the question.

“No, why?”

“Oh. Do you want her to be?” she pressed.

“Not particularly.” Mary was somewhat surprised and wondered if the romance was simply just one-sided.

As they approached the large building marked “saloon,” Mary noticed a tall man sporting hoary locks standing at the railing and looking upon Megaton with a condescending smirk, as if it belonged to him. This must have been Colin Moriarty. He turned, and Mary saw that the intelligent shine to his eyes indicated that he was a man to be easily fooled.

“Ah, a new face,” he said, staring straight at Mary. “Welcome to Megaton, lass. The name’s Colin Moriarty, and I own the saloon— Moriarty’s— in this God-forsaken place. What can I do for you?” His strange accent and smooth words instilled a sense of confidence in her, despite the previous warnings about him. She drew closer to him, away from the protective shadow of Eugene.

“I’m looking for my father. I was told he stopped by your saloon. His name is James…”

Instant recognition passed through Moriarty’s face as well as a bewildered gape. A glimmer of hope twitched her stomach with anticipation.

“My God, it’s you. It’s been years. Your daddy passed through here all right, just like last time. Just came and went. I suspect you’ll do the same, yes?” But there was something about what he said that rocked something deep within Mary.

“Last time?” Perhaps he had confused Dad with another person. Dad never had to time to be in Megaton before.

“Yeah, about twenty years ago. You were but a suckling babe with nary a tit to suckle. Sorry about your mum. Truly.” Mary’s knees were weak and a sickening dizziness coated her tongue.

“No, that’s not right. We were born in the Vault. We’ve been there our entire lives.” Moriarty broke into an immense roar of laughter.

“Is that what your father told you? That you were born in that damned hole? That he was born there as well? Oh, the lies we tell the ones we love.” Mary’s hands were shaking with what she could only name as rage. Lies?

“But I thought…”

“You know, I’ve heard about the brainwashing that goes down in 101. All hail the Overseer.” He cackled in his amusement.

“Lay off Moriarty,” Eugene said in a low voice. “She’s just trying to find her father.” Moriarty composed himself.

“Well, he passed through here, all right. Told us where he was going too. I’ll tell it to you, for a hundred caps.” The steep price nearly made Mary stagger as she thought of the measly fifty-two caps she managed to acquire at Moira’s.

“You can’t just tell me?” she asked.

“Sorry, kid. Everything comes at a price out here.” She was starting to learn that.

“I don’t have that many caps,” she admitted quietly. Moriarty stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“Then you can do me a favor. There’s this jet-addict— Silver. She lives in Springvale, or at least she’s hiding out there, because she owes me a lot of caps. Find her, tell her I sent you, and bring me back the money. Then, I’ll tell you where your dad went.” Mary sighed, feeling a crushing defeat and further away from Dad. She was so discouraged that she didn’t notice when Eugene led her inside the saloon.

—

Mary blinked. It was a dark, smoky place that filled her nostrils with the odor of liquor, sex, and something rancid. She wrinkled her nose as her eyes adjusted to the dim light.

“I think it’ll be faster if I go and see this Silver,” Eugene offered.

“What about me?” Mary asked, focused on breathing through her mouth. The thick, stagnant air clung to the inside of her mouth.

“You can wait here. Nova will watch over you.”

Mary was about to persist that she didn’t need a babysitter when Nova greeted them. Nova, a woman with short, bright red hair and an alluring voice like smoke that matched the saloon’s haze— Mary found quickly with a fierce blush— was a prostitute. She was friendly, though, but perhaps that was part of her job description.

Nova winked as Eugene left. Mary turned in time to see the door close behind him. When he was gone, Nova was noticeably relaxed, as if she had lowered a protective barrier of herself.

“It’s not easy being a hooker,” she confided glumly. “It’s not exactly what I planned to be, but once you owe Moriarty, it’s nearly impossible to get out. Half of all my earnings go to him. Still, I can say I’ve got it better than Gob.” Nova’s eyes wandered and focused on something behind Mary. “Hey Gob, stop beating that thing. It’s not the radio. It’s Galaxy News; their signal’s been shit lately. Come see Eugene’s new friend— Mary.”

Mary turned to this Gob, the bartender, and couldn’t help but stare.

Gob was what Mary originally imagined inhabitants of the Wasteland to look like. His face was the ghost of an animate skull, muscles and tendons visible through the thin, greenish layer of rotten skin.

“Hey, smooth-skin,” he greeted rather despondently. His rough voice matched his appearance.

“Hello,” Mary responded shyly.

“Ever met a ghoul before?” Nova asked. Mary shook her head.

“No.” Then to Gob, “It’s nice to meet you.” The flesh on Gob’s brow shifted, as if he were raising his eyebrows.

“You mean you’re not going to hit or call me names?”

“I hadn’t planned on it…” she said uncertainly.

“Well that’s a relief. It’s nice to see some kindness around her for once.”

“I don’t understand…” Mary said, looking to Nova for an explanation.

“People aren’t usually nice to Gob. In fact they’re usually downright mean— especially Moriarty— because he looks different.” Mary nodded sympathetically.

“Can I get you a drink? Mr. Moriarty would get mad at this, but I’ll give you a discount.”

“No, thank you.”

“Mary here is looking for her father. Remember James who stopped in the other day?” Gob picked up a cloth and began cleaning a dusty drinking glass.

“Yeah, I remember.” He shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t tell you where he went. Moriarty would beat me.” Mary was horrified.

“If Moriarty is so cruel to you, why don’t you just leave?” Gob didn’t meet her gaze.

“I’m in debt to him so I would for him, and he uses my wages to pay what I owe. It doesn’t exactly help that he charges me for room and boarding.”

“I’m sorry.”

Soon, Mary found herself waiting once more. Gob went back to serving other customers, and a man approached Nova to rent a room. So, she disappeared with him. Another woman that stayed and conversed with Mary for a while was Lucy West. Mary noticed the creases in her forehead and her usually knitted eyebrows. Eventually, she shared that she was worried about her family in Arefu. Despite several messages she tried sending, she never heard back from them.

Mary could slightly empathize. She told Lucy how she was looking for Dad. Lucy apologized and offered her best wishes, but she had to go soon to meet someone. Mary didn’t catch the name.

Then she was by herself again, waiting. She wondered how long Eugene had been gone. Minutes passed. An insect buzzed. The door opened and closed a few times, giving way to people entering and leaving. After Lucy had gone, no one else approached her. Nova was still gone, and Gob was always needed elsewhere. At some point, Moriarty came in and disappeared in a back room. Mary noticed at how Gob tensed in his presence, then relaxed.

Mary sighed and toggled with the settings on her Pip-boy. She wondered if Eugene had come across any trouble, like more raiders, and that was why he was taking so long. She considered deactivating the bomb while she waited but then realized that she didn’t know where the bomb was. It’d be silly to get lost in a town looking for a bomb. It’d be best if she just stayed put.

The door opened again, but Mary didn’t turn this time, positive it wouldn’t be Eugene. She sighed again, trying not to fall asleep at the bar and resenting the idea that she was just wasting time by sitting there.

Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder, and she whirled around in surprise to find herself face to face with a man wearing sunglasses, a hat, and a suit.

“Now who do we have here? Someone new? Could you be possibly the talk of the town?” His voice was gravelly, and his breath smelled worse.

“I’m Mary,” she said, nearly choking. He smiled— no, smirked.

“So you are new, then? Good, good. You could be just the person I need, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr. Burke.” His presumptuous manner led Mary to believe that she shouldn’t trust this man, and the fact that he still hadn’t removed his hand from her shoulder didn’t redeem him at all in her eyes.

“The person you need?” she asked.

“You can help me with a situation. No doubt you’ve heard of the bomb residing in this hellhole.”

Mary only nodded, her eyes watering.

“I need it to be detonated.”

Mary’s eyes few wide and she gaped at him.

“I’ll give you a remote pulse-charge detonator. You have no connections here— no loyalties. You’d be perfect for me. In exchange, you’ll have a master suite in Tenpenny Tower with your name on it, as well as an innumerable amount of caps.” He squeezed her shoulder harder.

“You mean… kill everyone here?” she hissed.

“These people mean nothing. They only stand in the way of greatness.”

“I… I,” Mary choked. “I was going to deactivate the bomb.” Mr. Burke leaned closer, squeezing harder.

“I would ask that you please reconsider—”

Then, another hand on Mr. Burke’s shoulder that turned him around and away from Mary. Mr. Burke turned to the intruder, and Mary caught sight of Eugene’s angry face.

Eugene. She sighed in relief.

“She’s with me, Burke,” he said coolly. Mr. Burke scoffed and jerked his shoulder away from Eugene’s grip before throwing a last inspecting look Mary’s way.

“Pity,” he sneered. “She’s too pretty for you.” Then he disappeared within the hazy shadows of Moriarty’s saloon. Eugene turned back to Mary.

“You all right?”

“He wanted to blow up Megaton,” she said, the color draining from her face.

Eugene looked troubled and mentioned something about telling Lucas Simms about it, but now they had something else to do. He held up a small pouch full of bottle caps.

“I could have gone with you,” she said.

“It was faster this way.” But Mary wasn’t sure about that. “Where’s Nova?”

“Uhh…” Mary couldn’t give the straightforward answer, and her eyes travelled toward upstairs of their own accord.

Thankfully, Eugene understood and didn’t press the subject.

They both went to Moriarty’s back room and showed him the three hundred caps Eugene collected from Silver. To Mary’s surprised, Moriarty didn’t accept the money.

“I just wanted to get the message across. Maybe the dumb broad will learn her lesson.”

“My father?” Mary asked.

“Yes, well, a deal is a deal. Your father stopped by the other day. He as in a real hurry, didn’t even stay for the night. Don’t worry though, he told me where he was going. Said he was headed to D.C.— Galaxy News Radio to see Three Dog.”

Mary nodded at this information but sensed something was wrong with Eugene.

“D.C., huh?” he asked. Mary looked at him.

“What’s wrong?” Eugene smiled grimly.

“Nothing except that it’s practically a war zone full of super mutants.” But Mary didn’t let that discourage her.

“Do you know where the GNR building is?” Eugene nodded.

“Well, if you’re going to see Three Dog,” said Moriarty. “Ask him what’s wrong with his radio signal.” He laughed, and Mary smiled weakly.

Eugene and she headed for the door, after waiting a while for Nova, who never showed up, and Mary resented over the wasted time again.

“What now?” she asked, trying to contain her excitement. “Are we going to D.C.?”

“First, you’re going to take a look at the bomb and try to diffuse it. If what you said is true about Burke, then that thing needs to be taken care of as soon as possible.” Mary was only half-listening.

“And then we go to D.C.?”

She didn’t heard Eugene’s response, but turned to wave goodbye to Gob. But Gob wasn’t looking at her. Moriarty was yelling at him.

She froze, watching the scene unfold. Moriarty barked a question that Gob answered quietly— under his breath, wiping down the counter. Gob didn’t look at him but kept his head bowed into submission.

“Hey, you piece of shit zombie. I asked you question,” Moriarty thundered. Mary flinched when Moriarty hit him.

“Mary…” came Eugene’s low warning. Mary didn’t acknowledge it.

Gob groaned a response that was followed by a whimper of pain. Moriarty’s hand reached back in preparation for another strike.

Mary moved.

“Mary!” Eugene issued a sharp hiss this time. Mary still didn’t register as she vaulted over the counter to place herself protectively in front of the cowering Gob.

Everything in the saloon seemed to freeze, and Mary tried not contemplating on how defending Gob might have been a very poor decision.

“Leave him alone,” she told Moriarty slowly, vaguely aware of every eye trained on her.