Rivet City

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door opens onto an afternoon of graying sky and greyer cityscape. Megaton and its buildings of metal were one thing; this is the ruins of DC proper, all tumbled-down concrete and metal rusted beyond repair. Here and there the occasional wall still stands, or rebar protrudes from a pile of rubble. Underfoot are the remains of what was once a street, but it's shattered more or less beyond recognition.

"According to my Pip-Boy map, we don't have much farther to go," Ellen says. "The river's up ahead, and then we just follow it to the boat."

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"There's something in there," Ellen whispers. "Several somethings. I heard feet, and metal noises, like guns getting readied. And I think I saw wrecked cars stacked up there, too, so there could be an explosion if we're not careful."

[aeons_crackshot]

"An explosion would likely take care of whatever is in there," Annabelle whispers back, "but if you want to avoid explosions, it might be best to make them come to us."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"The cars are on our side of the wall. I don't want to explode," Ellen murmurs. "Finding out what's in there is probably best. If it's too dangerous, we may need to find a way around. I have a Stealth Boy here if you'd like to use it for a bit- it can camouflage you so you almost look invisible, as long as you're not running or making noise."

[aeons_crackshot]

"Really?" Annabelle asks, intrigued. "How long does it last?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"An hour," Ellen says. "It's prewar technology. I don't know how to recharge it. You wear it on your wrist."

[aeons_crackshot]

"That's still very impressive," Annabelle admits with a smile. "Scouting out that area will be much easier with one of those. If you can spare one, I'm willing to give it a try."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Wordlessly, Ellen digs into her pack and produces a slightly awkward-looking bit of electronica to strap onto the wrist. She indicates the on-off rocker switch before noting, "It bends the light around you, so you won't be able to see yourself either except as this weird warbly outline."

[aeons_crackshot]

"That will be a bit strange," Annabelle remarks as she straps the Stealth Boy onto her wrist, "but I think I'll be able to manage. Anything else I should know about it?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It doesn't conceal any sounds you make," Ellen says, "and it doesn't conceal a muzzleflash very well, either."

[aeons_crackshot]

"I'll have to use the knife if it comes to a fight, then. You just wanted me to scout the area and see if we want to tangle with this lot at all, right?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "Please. If you don't mind," she says.


(OOC: And if you don't mind, can we slowtime for the night?)

[aeons_crackshot]

(OOC: Slowtime is good!)

"I don't mind at all," Annabelle says with a grin as she stows the shotgun and readies the combat knife. "Be back in a bit," she says as she flips the switch on the Stealth Boy and sneaks toward their target.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The first thing worth noting is that the cars Ellen mentioned are quite deliberately arranged- there are about six of them, several of them stacked one on top of another near the crude metal barricade, others further down the slope towards the riverside. The second is the presence of barbed wire along the top of the barricade and on the other side of any gaps Annabelle might find.

Peering through the gaps, though, will reveal the presence of four or five... well. They're shaped like humans, but they're a good seven or eight feet tall. They're far too heavily muscled to be anything like normal. There isn't a one of them with any visible hair worth mentioning, and they've all got some form of crude armor on- most of it looks as if it was made by hacking automobiles apart and stringing the flat bits on leather straps. The biggest stands on a central platform surrounded by its own inner barricade and barbed wire, near a merrily burning fire, an absolutely enormous minigun, and a huddled-over human who has the characteristic posture of people everywhere whose hands've been bound behind their backs.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle curses internally at the sight of the captive human, leaving this lot alone is no longer an option. Annabelle eyes the distance to the mutants, trying to judge if she can hit them with the sniper rifle from here.

Ideally, there will be somewhere relatively hidden where she can cover the area and cut a path through the barbed wire.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

In all likelihood, yes, she could plug any one of them between the eyes with it- except for the helmeted one, and that mostly because its helmet has a piece that extends partway down its nose.

There's an entry path that snakes its way up the slope beyond the cars and through the wall. It appears to have been constructed in such a manner as to force incoming arrivals to face the mutants in a controlled situation. Should Annabelle be capable of wedging through a much smaller space and easing barbed wire apart, though, there may just be a gap in the wall further along that she can creep through.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle grins at the sight of the small gap. Thanks to genetics and a lifetime of practice, Annabelle is really, really flexible...


Some time later, Annabelle is very glad that she didn't have an audience for this particular proceeding. Trying to get through a tiny hole with armor on, silently, and ease apart barbed wire when you can't see your hands is an interesting experience in all sorts of unpleasant and potentially embarrassing ways. (She was stuck upside down for a minute or so, which is not something she plans on sharing with Ellen.)

Hopefully, Ellen will have better luck fitting through the gap later if she needs to use it. Now that Annabelle is through, she'll stalk around the camp and make sure there aren't any surprises hiding in wait.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

While they are tough, by the look of them, and cunning, by the construction of their camp, the mutants don't appear to be particularly treacherous. There are no hidden traps for the unwary inside their walls, and no concealed explosives save whatever may lurk in their ammo boxes. The closest the ringed-in area comes to a trap is a small area up against a building wall that's separated from the central region by a bit of fencing and corrugated metal; it has one mutant stretched out on cardboard, dozing with his (admittedly huge) board-with-a-nail-in at his side and a copy of Lying, Congressional Style jammed under his head.

It is probably best, however, not to discuss the net bags of vile red and maroon color and absolutely unspeakable smell that festoon the central platform. At least, not to discuss them with Ellen. When one can make out individual bones amidst the red... yeah, no.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle knows that smell, and says a silent prayer for the people whose bones lie in those nets.

If the area is sufficiently secluded to hide a corpse from view, well, the sleeping mutant likely won't wake ever again. Thanks to Whitley Style's quiet instruction, Annabelle knows how to find the carotid arteries. If it's built enough like a human on the inside, the knife should kill it before it has a chance to cry out.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

It most certainly is. There might be something of a gurgling noise, but given that there's a crackling fire and a sobbing human not all that far away... well, that's one more mutant who won't be bothering anyone.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle makes sure that it's dead, and extracts the book from its position underneath the corpse out of curiosity. Huh, Ellen's world apparently believes in truth in advertising. It might be worth a few caps, at least.

With the mutant down, Annabelle and the book are headed back through the hole in the barbed wire to Ellen.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen is crouched in the same place Annabelle left her, waiting with her shotgun at the ready. "How's it look?" she whispers. "Can we skirt around them?"

[aeons_crackshot]

"We could, but there's a captive in there that's still alive," Annabelle whispers back. "There are five of them now, I took care of one that was sleeping out of sight of the others. I found this under it's head," she explains, holding the book out to Ellen.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen winces, but her expression at least brightens somewhat as she takes the book. "Well," she says, glancing it over and hastily stashing it in her pack, "we can't just leave the captive, can we? Although that'll make it a bit hard to use grenades."

[aeons_crackshot]

"That depends on where the grenades are landing. The captive is in a smaller enclosure with a mutant that has a really big gun. If I take that one out with my rifle, the enclosure should protect the captive a bit from debris and the like."

"I managed to make a hole in wire, but it's a tight fight. If you can get through the gap, you'll be able to come at them in a direction they're not expecting."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen considers this. Then she nods. "I'll have to leave my pack to fit through anything small, but I can do that," she says. "Let's get this done quickly."