Paradise Falls

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door opens on the Capital Wasteland, its rolling scrubby landscape peeling away in every direction. Off to the east, the huddle of reinforced walls can be seen. "This is as close as we can get to Paradise Falls without being seen," Ellen says. "This would be the best place to start from... welcome to the Wasteland, by the way."

Comments

[justcallmefee]

Fiona is the oldest of seven kids, and helped her mum raise her brothers and sister. She touches each of them on the head with a gentle hand, tipping their faces up to the light.

She catches the eye of the oldest and gives him a smile and a tiny wink. The light in his eyes does her heart a world of good.

She grabs him by the chin and snaps, "Open." He obliges her, and she peers into his mouth, tipping his head to one side and the other. The other kids get a similar once over, the girl almost in tears at the treatment.

She pulls their hands up to examine them, and tries to give a little reassuring squeeze, but the girl isn't having any of it. The older boy touches her on the shoulder and pulls her back.

"Yeah, I guess they'll do." She turns back to Eulogy with an edged look on her face. "How much?"

It's taking every ounce of willpower she has not to rip the man's throat out with her bare hands. But they're still wearing their collars, and she doesn't have backup.

Still, it's a damned close thing.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Eulogy thinks for a moment, then cites a number for each of the children; the educated one's price is considerably higher. The total is within the amount of caps Ellen handed over.

... Ellen kinda sells a lot of stuff from people who've been stupid enough to attack her.

[justcallmefee]

Fiona crosses her arms and chews on the number for a moment.

"Yeah, all right," she drawls. "Sounds reasonable to me. You want the money here or behind closed doors?"

She doesn't know what the rules of business etiquette are here, and in other situations like this, she's never gone wrong by asking.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Nothing wrong with dealings in public," says Eulogy. "Everyone here is part of the deal, after all."

[justcallmefee]

She still drops back a half pace, eyes on the guards, and the sentry up above them all. She pulls out the bag of caps again, and takes the balance of the total out, slipping them back into her pocket just loose.

"You gonna take those collars off for me or is there an added fee for that?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Actually, we generally include the collars in the price of the sale," says Eulogy. "I do keep a small stock of handheld transmitters available for new purchases; they're a bit awkward to carry in terms of size, but most buyers and transporters find that it prevents stock loss. But if you'd rather-"

[justcallmefee]

"Oh really. No, that'll do just fine."

Score. She can back hack the transmitter and make Ellen a jammer.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

A normal person would get worried at the look on Fiona's face. Unfortunately, pretty much everyone Eulogy ever deals with thinks that kind of expression is normal, and so he only nods and presents her with an electronic box perhaps fourteen inches across. "An excellent choice," he says. "If there's anything else I can do to make your purchase a smooth one, please, do let me know."

[justcallmefee]

She hefts it, squinting for a moment. "What's the range on this thing, anyway?"

It's good information to have, she thinks.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Eulogy chuckles at the question and dips one hand into his suit pocket; what he extracts is a bit of cardboard with a number on it. "I don't think we need anyone else knowing this, do you?" he says, with a knowing nod towards the children.

[justcallmefee]

She eyes the number and nods back, hefting the transmitter on one hip with her offhand. The kids get another once over before she turns back to the man in the impeccable red suit.

"I have to say, it's been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Jones. I assume the box is my receipt?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"And anyone who says otherwise- well, they can take it up with me personally," says Eulogy with a smile. "Thank you for your business, ma'am. It's been a fruitful transaction."

[justcallmefee]

You have no idea, Fiona thinks.

She just gives him a broad wink, and waves her charges in behind her.

"Stay close," she says with a growl. "I just washed my hair and I don't fancy picking bits of you out of it."

She doesn't wait for anyone to give their leave, she just starts walking, again, one hand free if she needs to go for her gun.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Yes'm," murmur the children in chorus, scrambling to follow Fiona as quickly as they can. The older one keeps his head down; the younger two... well, anywhere has to be better than this, so they're keeping their eyes on Fiona's back as closely as they can.

[justcallmefee]

"Almost done," she murmurs, as soon as they're out of ear shot of the guards.

"You're doing great."

Grouse is too occupied with something else to even notice them leaving, and she doesn't even acknowledge the other guard. She brushes her hair back and in the gesture, thumbs the throat mic on.

"Are you still in the clear? We're coming out."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"We're fine. We've moved a little further up the road- I thought I saw Crazy Wolfgang coming and I figured I'd better get out of line of sight in case anyone came out to trade with him."

[justcallmefee]

"Roger that."

She keeps her game face on until they're way out of sight of the gates, barely slowing to let the kids keep up. The moment they're in the clear, she turns to the oldest and gives him a thumbs up, keeping the sign close to her body in case they're still being watched.

"Okay, not that much farther and then I can get these damned things off you, okay?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The two smaller ones get wide-eyed with surprise; the older boy offers a tentative smile. "Thank you, ma'am," he says. "You're not bad, for a mungo."

[justcallmefee]

"Yeah? Well, keep it to yourself, okay? I have a reputation to uphold. My name is Fiona, and we're catching up to Ellen. I think she has some news for you guys."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

He nods. "I'm Squirrel," he says. "This is Penny, and this is Sammy. Who's Ellen?"

[justcallmefee]

"Hi Squirrel. Sammy. Penny. She's out of Vault 101? You may not of heard of her. But she's the reason I'm here, so you can trust her, okay?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh, her," says Penny suddenly. "Three Dog talks about her on the radio a lot. All the mungos in town call her 'that bitch'."

[justcallmefee]

"Which would be why she needed me to go in and get you guys."

Fiona's estimation of Ellen just took more than a few ticks upward.

"Well, come on. Let's get going. The sooner we get back to her and my tools, the sooner I can get those collars off you."

She's already starting to twitch, wondering about how long the power source on the transmitter will last, and if there's anything else in the area that might set off the devices.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Fortunately, the power source is an old but serviceable fission battery (it's probably best Fiona doesn't know that), and there aren't any transmitters or sources of interference to be found. Ellen and the others, such as the little group may be, are waiting out of sight around behind the shed that provided the door to Milliways. "Hi there," she says with a small wave. "Is everybody okay?"

[justcallmefee]

"Looks like, not for lack of me imagining smashing that Eulogy Jones guy in the face. What a smug son of a bitch."

She's going for her bag, and her tools.

"Penny, come here." It's just about the crudest device she's ever seen, and she's seen a lot. It takes her less than thirty seconds to disarm it and get it off the kid. "Sammy, you're next."