aaaaaaaagh_sky

The western sun's rays slanting across the Wasteland cast long shadows, reminding Ellen that as much as she wants to reach DC and find out what the situation is at the Lincoln Memorial, she's going to need to get some rest first. It's a long way from the Temple of the Union to the ruins. She's tired, Dogmeat's tired, and the temperature's dropping fast as it gets darker. Plus, her armor's starting to hum the Battle Hymn of the Republic, which Ellen figures is never what you'd call a good sign. Luckily there's a shack up ahead, one with a door she can open and close. "What do you think, Dogmeat?" she asks. "Does it smell okay to you?"

Dogmeat raises no objections, so she tries the door. It's solid enough. There's a table with a radio on it to one side; the radio's got enough juice left in its fission battery that it picks up the GNR signal when she turns it on. Unfortunately, when she moves to survey the rest of the place, her Geiger counter starts going off as she approaches the far corner of the room.

"Blast. It's not worth the Rad-X we'd both need," Ellen says to Dogmeat. "We'd better find somewhere else."

As they head out of the shack she pulls the door closed behind her, hard. It's not really built for that, so when it hits the doorframe it bounces open again. Pity she didn't turn around at the sound, because she'd've caught sight of the light of Milliways leaking through the inch or so that the door bounces open.

And anyone in Milliways who happens to be looking at the right spot at the right time will notice the door that suddenly opened an inch or so, letting in the cool evening air.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

thanksrainman

Gus nods as he walks away. "Fucking talking meatloaf," he mutters as he walks away.

He walks back to the door, pushing it open slightly. "Yo," he calls. "Looking for the owner?"

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

That's about par for the course, so Gob just writes it off and goes back to serving the drinks. As for Gus's quarry, he's bent over a computer terminal in the back of the back room- a tall gray-haired fellow with a chinbeard, dressed mostly in leathers. He looks up with a broad smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "That'd be me," he calls back in a solid Irish brogue. "Colin Moriarty. And who might you be, hmm?"

From:

thanksrainman

Gus restrains himself from visibly being pleased to find this man to be an actual human. Suddenly, Gus' previously sour demeanour is dissolved, replaced by a friendly smile.

"Hey, man," he says, offering his hand. "Name's Gus. I understand you've run this place for a while?"

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

"Since I inherited it from me dad," says Moriarty. "A good bit more than thirty years now. My, my, where does the time go..."

From:

thanksrainman

Gus chuckles. "Yeah, man. Tell me about it."

He leans casually against a desk. "Listen, you're a man of business, so I'm not gonna small talk you to death. I come out here from Jasper. Indiana. Familiar with it?"

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

Moriarty's eyes narrow a little, but he nods. "The state, yeah," he says. "Out Chicago way, isn't it? I've heard a few things from that direction."

From:

thanksrainman

"Thereabouts, yeah," Gus confirms. "We're more rural out there, so things aren't so bad, really. Almost nice, actually."

"Anyway, my dad had a chain of bars out there. He was a property developer, and that was his big project just before he died last summer. The brother and I both got our own lives, and we don't know what to do with them. I'd probably just run it into the ground if I'm honest. So, Tim and I figured we'd just dissolve the chain and sell each bar off to some people back east as its own property. We drew straws, and I got the short one, so here I am, while he's at home watching after the wife and kids."

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ring of keys.

Edited Date: 2009-12-11 02:34 am (UTC)

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

One of Moriarty's eyebrows rises at that. "Is that so, now?" he says. "You know, I'd heard how the Brotherhood'd been tryin' to tame what was left of Chicago, and it didn't work out so well for 'em. Always did wonder what else might be goin' on outside their reach."

From:

thanksrainman

Gus shakes his head. "Out in the same direction as Chicago, but not really near it. Hundreds of miles," he assures. "I wouldn't go out to Chicago for anything right now."

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

"Smart man," Moriarty mutters.

From:

thanksrainman

"Smart enough to see that you know what you're doing here," he says. "And I'm willing to bet that you're smart enough to see a good deal when it comes a-calling."

His tone is light; not sarcastic or condescending.

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

"I like to think I'm a man who knows what's what, aye," says Moriarty, folding his arms across his chest. "Do I smell an investment opportunity?"

From:

thanksrainman

Gus grins. "Now you're getting it," he says.

"Dad left us with twelve buildings. I've been up and down this coast, and I'm down to my last one. I heard about the business you're running last week, and thought you might be interested."

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

"Possibly, possibly," says Moriarty. "What sort of an arrangement did you have in mind?"

From:

thanksrainman

"We're just selling," he says simply. "That was Dad's thing; we don't want it. You get the deed and the property is yours. What you do with it is up to you."

He shrugs non-committally. "Like I said, things are better back there; not perfect, by any means, but it's not a mess. People got more caps to spend than they do out here. A lot of agriculture driving everything."

Beat.

"Hops. Barley. Even Juniper in some areas."

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

Up goes the other eyebrow. "Is that so?" he says. "Well, now. Isn't that promising..."

From:

thanksrainman

Gus only shrugs. "The wife's family has acres of hops gardens," he says. "I don't normally have time to get off the property. Only reason I'm here now is, like I said, the brother's helping out at home."

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

Moriarty nods. "Sounds like a promising scenario overall," he says. "Almost makes me wish I could get out that way meself. 'Course, that'd require someone to be left in charge here..."

From:

thanksrainman

Gus shrugs lightly as he pulls a key from his keyring. "Too bad," he says. He stands up straight and reaches for the door. "I'm sure there are other folks that would like a good pick-up."

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

"Now, now," says Moriarty, leaning forward. "Don't be hasty. I'm just considering me options here, all me possibilities. Got arrangements to make, y'know."

From:

thanksrainman

"Sorry, man," Gus says, turning back to Moriarty. "You know how it is; I been away from the family for almost a year. Just wanna get this stuff sold and out of my hair so I can see my kids again."

It's his favourite card to play, and he's learned how to play it quite well.

"Don't mean to rush ya, if you're interested."

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

"Oh, I think we could come to some sort of an agreement, to be certain," says Moriarty. "It's a question of what's got to be done first, though. I mean, I've got to look after me interests here before heading on out to look after other possibilities, don't I? And I've got to have a clear idea of what sort of a payout would be involved first, of course."

From:

thanksrainman

"I don't have the deed on me," Gus says. "I'd be stupid to travel with something like that, especially in these parts."

Just from what he's seen the last few hours, he's certain Moriarty would agree with him on this.

"I got it all locked away safely." He holds up the key with the funny plastic bit. It definitely looks like the sort of key that would open a locker.

Or a 1998 Toyota Hilux with a knackered transmission.

From:

aaaaaaaagh_sky

"Fair enough," Moriarty concedes. "It's a damn hell-hole out there in the Wastes, that's for certain."

From:

thanksrainman

"Tell me about it," Gus says. "I mean, back home, they said it would be bad, but not like this. You sound like you've travelled; you know what I mean."