Chapter Text
“Gob, go teach this poor bastard how to shoot a real gun! Don’t you dare come back until he can shoot a bottle of a hooker’s ass.”
Logan glances over at the ghoul, frowning at the way Colin speaks to him but too scared to say anything. He doesn’t know what this man is capable of.
“Come on, kid,” Gob says, seemingly unaffected but Logan knows that has to be an act.
He follows Gob outside. Once the door closes, he apologizes. “Sorry you got dragged into doing this. You don’t have to if you don’t want, I won’t say anything.”
“It’s okay. Least I can do since you didn’t scream when we met.”
That comment sits uneasy with him. Not screaming at someone just trying to live their life should be the bare minimum, not something Logan deserves to be rewarded for. “Well, I appreciate it. Say, I can go to the Lantern and buy us a few beers.”
“Didn’t you just come from the vault? Do you, uh, have any caps?”
“Yeah! Walter gave me some for helping him fix the pipes around here. It wasn’t too hard, I used to program and repair pip-boys,” he explains while holding his wrist up. “Pipes and pip-boys are pretty different but...anyways, we can go grab those drinks.”
“Nah, word will get back to Moriarty and he’ll beat me for buying booze from someone else.”
“We need something to shoot. I’ll get them and then meet you outside.”
“Alright.”
The bottles are kind of cold but not really but he puts them in his bag without complaint. Moira has been very kind to him, giving him some supplies for free--including a sleeping bag and a pack bigger than the one Amata was able to sneak him. The handful of people he’s talked to have patiently, for the most part anyways, answered his questions. Except the ones about his dad. Only Moriarty seems to know but...Logan’s not sure he wants to confront this Silver person for caps. What if she pulls a gun on him or something?
But he realizes he doesn’t have too many options. Maybe Gob can help once they’re alone. He feels bad again. Would Megaton’s residents still be nice to him if he was a ‘ghoul’ like Gob? He doesn’t understand their prejudice.
But thinking about anything else is simply a distraction so he doesn’t have to think about Moriarty’s earlier words. He and his dad weren’t born in the vault? His dad not only abandoned him but lied to Logan his entire life as well? That can’t be true. Colin must be fucking with him for a cheap laugh. His dad wouldn’t...he wouldn’t...
‘He would,’ his mind whispers. He watches Megaton’s doors open. He would abandon him, he would lie to him. But...why?
Why do this? Did he mean to tell Logan at some point but just couldn’t find the right time? Did he really think doing this would keep Logan safe? What could possibly be so bad out here that his dad felt justified doing this?
“Over here.” Gob is off to the side and leads him a bit farther out.
“So...is the Underworld far?” Logan immediately wishes he could take it back. Talking about home when he’s stuck here is probably not something he wants to talk about.
“Keep walking and you’ll end up there eventually. Right next to a Brotherhood outpost and some super mutants. Luckily, they keep each other busy so they don’t bother us.”
“What’s the Brotherhood? Should I stay away?”
“Well, you’re not a ghoul so they won’t shoot you on sight. Other than that, they probably won’t have much interest in you.”
“Do a lot of people treat ghouls badly?”
“Yeah. A lot do. Since you’re new here, I feel I should tell you. Some ghouls are like me. But some are feral, whatever brain they had is gone. Maybe they got exposed to a little too much radiation or something. Those ones--shoot them, put them out of their misery. No one deserves a fate like that. They’ll growl and flail around and try to murder you, so it should be easy to tell the difference. Did you get the bottles?”
“Oh, uh, yeah.” He sets his bag down and twists the caps off the first couple. It doesn’t taste that good as he sips, but Logan doesn’t care as long as it’s alcohol. “So you didn’t see my dad at all?”
“I saw Moriarty talking to someone pretty...what’s the word? Heatedly? Seriously? But I try not to stare. The guy was gone as quick as he came.”
“Huh.” It’s quiet as they keep drinking. Logan wishes he wasn’t alone with his thoughts but he can’t think of much to say.
“You’re really gonna go out there and search for him?”
Logan blinks. “Yeah. I have to. I need to know why he left. He wouldn’t just...leave me behind for no reason.”
“Let’s see if you know how to use that pistol then. There’s a lot of stuff you need to look out for. Super mutants, radscorpions, slavers. Assume everything wants to kill you.”
“That...that seems pretty drastic...”
“It’s how you’re going to survive if you want to find your dad, okay?” Gob stares at him a moment and then says, “Come on.” He sets the empty bottles down and leads him back. “I’m sure you’ll find him and then you two can go back to the vault and forget about all this.”
“We can’t go back. The overseer tried to kill me.”
“Oh. Huh. You survived.”
“I guess.”
They focus on shooting. Logan’s experience with his bb gun helps but his mind is whirling. There’s no way he can survive in this wasteland. He’s going to either get captured by slavers or die a horrible lonesome death. “How does anyone survive out here?” he whispers.
Gob sighs. “Not everything will try to kill you. It’s not completely lawless but there are a lot of bad people and mutated creatures. You can’t trust everyone who smiles in your direction. You aim’s pretty decent, better than I thought it’d be.”
“Am I ready to go search for my dad?”
“Do you know where he is?”
“No...Moriarty said he’d tell me if I paid him then said to collect money someone named Silver owes him. But what if she holds a gun to my head or something?” His shoulders slump. “Guess I’m not ready.”
“You just need some more experience. And I know Silver, I doubt she’ll try to attack you. Just collect the caps and get the information you need.”
“Moira’s been nice to me but I’m gonna need caps everywhere else I go. Paying him to give me information about my own fucking dad feels like thievery.” He notices Gob start tapping his foot and wonders if he did something to annoy him.
“I’m gonna tell you something,” he says quietly, even though they’re the only ones around. “But you cannot tell anyone I told you.”
“I promise.”
“I mean it.”
“I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“Moriarty keeps tabs on everyone in town on that terminal of his, he loves blackmailing folks. It’s in a little room behind the bar. I’d bet he wrote about your dad. If you can sneak in and hack it, the caps you get from Silver are yours to keep. But if you’re caught, you’re dead.”
It’s worth the risk. He needs those caps more than Moriarty does. Purposely using James to his advantage shows the type of person he is. Logan doesn’t owe Moriarty anything.
“Thank you, Gob.”
“Want to head over?”
“Do you know where she lives?”
“Yeah.”
Gob points him at the right house but refuses to go with Logan. “It’ll be good practice for you.”
Why does Silver owe a debt? Is it drugs? A simple beer tab? Is someone strung out and high going to attack? Gob says it’s unlikely but...
Logan knocks on the door. No answer. “Hey, Moriarty sent me! Can you open up?”
A woman eventually answers. She looks sober. Logan has no memory of what he says but a few minutes later he’s returning to Gob with three hundred caps. “It took a lot of talking but I got the payment.”
“Good work. If you’re able to hack that terminal, keep it. Programming pip-boys is practically the same thing, right? Ready to head back? I dunno when you can sneak in there but I can’t help you at the bar.”
“I understand. You’ve helped me enough.”
“Also a heads up, don’t go to the school back there.”
Logan turns to look as they return to town.
“It’s full of raiders.”
“Are raiders like bandits?”
“Yeah. They’re gangs, they’re bad. They will steal your things and shoot you so don’t go messing with them unless you absolutely have to.”
“Noted. Moira asked me to stop by, said she’d have a job for me if I was interested. Something about helping write a book? I want to see what exactly she has in mind then I’ll be at the bar.”
They’re back within Megaton’s scrap metal walls. Logan waves to Gob when they part ways. Moira knows he’s fresh from the vault so hopefully her job isn’t too outlandish.
~~~~~
“That seems like a noble cause. Sure, I’ll help.”
“Oh, fantastic!” Moira exclaims. “A vault dweller can provide a great foreword. The readers will learn with you and be able to see your progress through each chapter.”
She asks him a few questions and gives him a chance to explain why he’s here then lists the topics for the first chapter.
“Finding food doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Now if you can find food, great. But if you can find medicine, even better! There’s a Super Duper Mart east of town. I’d start there.”
“Okay, I’ll do that soon.”
“Good hunting!”
Maybe Gob will have some tips for him. Moriarty’s hanging around but Logan sees a doorway that leads to a small room as he sits at the bar. Is that...a second entrance back there? He’ll have to check it out whenever Moriarty actually goes to sleep. He buys another beer from Gob and waits for him to finish with another customer.
“So did Moira have work for you?”
“Yeah. I’m going to explore the Super Duper Mart for food and medicine.”
“Be careful. Raiders could be living there.”
“I’ll stay out of sight. I used to sneak around the vault at night with my boyfriend. Well, sort of boyfriend. Anyways, the only time we’d really get caught is when my dad would notice I was gone.”
“Just...stay aware of your surroundings at all times. Don’t get cocky. You need to realize that you might be forced to kill someone.”
“I’ve already killed someone...the guards in the vault were attacking. One tackled me to the ground, he was saying all these nasty things and hitting me with his baton. I panicked and when I got away from him, I swung my baseball bat at his head as hard as I could. I took his gear and I’m pretty sure he stopped breathing but I was too scared to check. When the guards were trying to break down the door to get to me, they told me I killed him.”
“Sometimes we gotta do rough things to survive. Sometimes people force our hand and self-defense isn’t the same as being a cold-blooded murderer. Remember that.”
Logan nods. “I’ll hang around here a little bit longer then go to the store.”
Gob’s gaze lingers on him a bit before he has to tend to other customers. Logan’s good at staying quiet and blending into the background. Moriarty makes a couple loud comments but otherwise leaves him alone. When it becomes obvious the bar’s not clearing out anytime soon, he decides to leave.
“I’m heading to the Super Duper Mart. I’ll see you later, Gob.”
“Be careful,” he repeats. “Remember what I said, don’t be arrogant. If it’s too hot, come back.”
“Okay, I will.”
“Didn’t you have a bigger pack earlier?”
“Yeah, I left it at Moira’s store. Figured it’d be easier to sneak for groceries without a sleeping bag. See ya.” He waves then is out the door. A place called ‘Super Duper Mart’ doesn’t sound like it’ll be so bad...right?
~~~~~
Logan tries hard to calm his panting. He’s not quite sure how he managed to defeat these raiders but most of this small group is dead. He wasn’t lying when he told Gob he’s good at hiding. But there’s two left and they’re on high alert.
The food Moira wanted is already in his bag but the pharmacy is in the back where the raiders were camped out. Technically, he doesn’t have to do this part but he believes in this book idea. A wasteland survival guide? That could help so many people, people just like him.
He’s gotten this far, he’ll finish the job. He slithers through an open door and works his way down the hall, stopping occasionally to listen for any sounds. A woman starts shouting, trying to taunt him into revealing himself.
“Do you see him? Do you see him?! Come out, only a fucking coward hides!”
She’s going to have to try harder than that. He enters a room and against the wall, he sees a protectron inside its storage unit. If it’s still functioning...
He runs to the terminal, it’s an easy hack. A quick glance behind him shows the room’s still clear but the earlier shouting has stopped. That worries him but his fingers continue to tap against the keyboard. His eyes scan the room and widen when he sees a large first aid kit on the wall. This is the pharmacy section so that must be supplies--if they haven’t already been looted. He digs his bobby pins out of his pocket, relieved that he and Freddie used to sneak around stealing alcohol out of storage.
Are these raiders really too stupid to unlock one lock? The thought that its rigged as a trap crosses his mind just as he flips the lid open. He blinks then realizes medical supplies are inside. He hurriedly shoves them into his pack. Before he can return to the terminal, a can kicks across the floor. He’s ready, pistol aimed and shooting the moment he sees movement flit across the doorway. The woman curses and he takes the opportunity to crouch behind the metal shelves and crates. There’s more noise and his heart races when a grenade hurls into the back corner. With no time to think, he launches himself as far away as he can and that means running out of the only exit.
His gun is out but a bat comes swinging faster than he can react.
Logan stumbles and his vision swims as pain explodes through his head like the grenade exploding behind him. He doesn’t feel himself falling but when his eyes open again, his face is pressed against the cold filthy floor.
More noise echoes through the store, a cacophony roaring in his ears. The last thought to run through his rattled brain is a desperate plea for his dad to come rescue him.