Lucky Harith

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The walls of Megaton loomed up ahead. Ellen honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd felt that much pure relief. No more shepherding Bryan through molerat ambush and wild dog attack, or worrying about Talon Company coming over the horizon while she had the six-year-old in tow. "Bryan?" she said, glancing down at the boy. "Bryan, we're almost there. How're you doing?"

"'m tired," Bryan answered, rubbing his eyes with one hand. "And my feet hurt."

"Well, I've got a bed in my house in Megaton. You can sleep in it tonight, and we'll figure out what to do about Rivet City in the morning," Ellen said.

"'kay," muttered Bryan; then he lifted his head. "What's that smell?"

Ellen blinked, and sniffed the wind. "Oh," she said. "That smells like Brahmin."

"What's a Brahmin?"

"A big, big two-headed cow," says Ellen. "Remember that Salisbury steak ready-meal? Well, that kind of meat came from animals almost just like Brahmin." She had no qualms about eating two-hundred-year-old ready-meals; they'd been sealed since before the War, and they'd been sterile as surgical dressing at the time, so the irradiation of the War could only make them last even longer and still be good. "Now you'll get to meet one."

Bryan nodded, but stuck a little closer to Ellen's side as they approached the town. Sure enough, she was right; the smell was a caravan's pack Brahmin. It looked much like Doc Hoff's, but there were far more weapons poking out of its pack, and the humans who accompanied it were unfamiliar to Ellen. The leader, a dark-skinned man in a yellow jumpsuit with a pair of goggles up on his head, bowed as he caught sight of Ellen and Bryan. "Ah," he said, "a fellow student on the path of the Wasteland. Welcome, miss and young sir; I am known as Lucky Harith."

"Oh, I know you," Ellen exclaimed. "Moira Brown mentioned your name the last time I was in town."

"Did she, now?" Harith smiled. "In conjunction with good things, I hope."

"She said you knew about military chems from before the War," Ellen said. "And I think she got some frag grenades from you, too?"

"Indeed she did," said Harith. "My philosophy is that this world we live in is a dangerous place; the best way to be safe in it is to be as dangerous as the next fellow. Whether by means of grenades or some other form of armament. That, as I think you can see, is my stock-in-trade- that and the unarmed forms of combat, of course. Since one can't always have hot death close to hand, even as much as one might like."

Bryan had let go of Ellen's hand and was squinting up at Harith's caravan guard, an armored blonde woman of middle years. Ellen took the opportunity to peer curiously at the guns the Brahmin was carrying. Most of them she didn't recognize, but there was at least one laser pistol in there. "I see," she said. "That must come in very handy, traveling the Wastes."

"Madame, I assure you, anyone who knows my caravan knows better than to tangle with us in combat," Harith said with a satisfied smile. "And those who don't know us regret it very quickly."

Ellen nodded slowly; an idea was starting to occur to her. "Do you travel to Rivet City, by any chance?" she said.

"Rivet City is the next stop on my route," said Harith. "I'll be returning to Canterbury Commons afterwards. Why do you ask?"

"Well..." She hesitated. "Bryan, here, has family in Rivet City. A woman named Vera, I think-"

"Miss Weatherly," Harith supplied. "She runs a fine establishment indeed. I've stayed there a few nights myself, when the weather was too foul to stay close to my inventory."

Ellen nodded. "Anyway, Bryan's just lost his family," she said. "I need to get him to Vera, since I can't really take care of him myself."

"Hmm." Harith eyed the boy, tapping one finger against his chin. "I don't normally take on additional people, you understand. The larger the group, the less I can count on our reputation and usual tactics to be enough. Raiders are one thing, but the supermutants in the DC ruins haven't got the smarts to lay off. We usually sneak by them."

Rats. Ellen had sort of been counting on traveling with a caravan. "You're sure?" she said.

"Pretty sure," Harith said. "Although... he is small. And I do have a Stealth Boy or two in my inventory. Tell you what. For the price of two Stealth Boys- and an extra sum for supplies and our trouble, of course- I can take young Bryan here to Rivet City and see him safely set up with his family. What do you say?"

"How much do Stealth Boys cost?"

"Not much, not much," said Harith. "A mere seventy caps each. A small price to pay for virtual invisibility and the relative safety it brings."

Ellen bit her lip, considering. She still had enough caps left- Perc had paid her an astronomical amount- but that would put a heck of a dent in it. "All right," she said, "but that extra sum's going to have to wait until I've verified Bryan's safety. Moira knows you, but I want to be sure..."

Harith laughed. "I do love driving a good bargain," he said. "Keep talking. Let's see what we end up with, shall we?"