Surprised by her quickly drawn defense, Leith was struck silent for a moment before he said, attempting to be as placating as possible, "I didn't mean to insinuate that you can't handle your own, kid. It's just..." He sighed. Every child, even the most sheltered of them, had come to know the true horrors of the world. It's just how it was out here. Back before the war, everything had been hidden. The government's lies and plots, what was happening overseas, the plans that neighbors cooked up from behind locked doors and curtained windows. And people, even the adults, were perfectly content to pretend that nothing was wrong with their world, that everything was fine and that nothing at all could touch them and their families. He'd been one of them. Hell, he'd only ever reserved a spot in the Vault because his employer had suggested that they do it...not because he'd actually thought he'd be fleeing toward one someday, desperately trying to protect his wife and daughter from a threat that could devastate an entire country within mere seconds.
Sometimes, he just found himself forgetting that things were different now. That kids weren't waiting for school to be dismissed to eat dinner and rush to the playground. They were wondering if their parents would even come home. Scraping together a meal. Trying to find ways to survive, in general.
He clenched the strap of his bag, his jaw momentarily locking.
It shouldn't have to be this way.
But there was nothing that he could do about it, either, so he simply said, "I've got to get going, kid. See you around." And with that, he left and didn't dare to look back at the scraggly little girl again.

"You must be high, Leith, because I am as much of an angel now as I was as a kid," Kaye said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You must have been bitch incarnate back then, too, because you're not angel," Raider murmured under his breath, mostly to himself.

"Hey, I heard that, you little shit!" She glared in his direction. "Let's leave him here, Leith. I can show him just how much of a bitch I can really be." She grabbed Leith's arm and started walking off, dragging him behind her.

Raider bit his lip, watching as they walked away. He closed his eyes tightly in a moment of contemplation. Where was he to go now that everyone he'd known had been killed? Not many lone wolf's survived in the wasteland and to be completely honest, he wasn't that good at protecting himself, period. If he was, then he never would have joined up with such a hateful, evil group in the first place.

"Wait!" He blurted out, taking a step forward. He finally opened his eyes to stare at the two. "Let...let me come with you. At least until we get out of the woods and closer to a town. I-I don't have nothing to my name but I can make it up to you for your services." he then looked at the ground in shame.

Leith wrenched himself for Kaye's grip, then turned back to the boy and said, "So you're willing to come with us now? If you don't mind me asking, why the sudden change of heart?"

Raider glared at him. "You invite me along and now you're going to give me the third degree for accepting the offer?"

"He can't be trusted, Leith. Look, he can't even make up his own mind what he wants."

"Shut up! I..." He gritted his teeth to try controlling his rising anger towards the woman. "Look, I'm injured and am covered in blood. I wouldn't get a mile out there alone before getting attacked by a coyote pack or yao guai."

Leith was quiet for a moment, but finally said, "He comes with us, Kaye. It's like he said. He's injured and in no condition to defend himself, much less attack us with any hope of actually winning. The least we can do is help him to the next town. If it comes down to it, we'll leave him there, he can get medical attention, and then...then he's on his own from there." He shook his head. "And we can dump this load onto the town, too, try and get some of the caps that we lost back. Because there's nothing here. Nothing worth risking our lives over, anyway."

"Fine...but if he tries something and manages to kill one of us, I'm going to say 'I told you so' in advance in case I'm not around to say it." Without waiting to see if they followed, Kaye started making her way towards the exit.
Raider watched as she walked away for a moment before slowly looking up at the ghoul. He still didn't know if he could trust these two himself, but for now he didn't have much of a choice. If it came down to it later on down the road, then he would kill them or sneak off into the night with their gear. Either way, he knew these two were the only chance he had. "Thank you, ghoul," he said softly. "I still don't know why you are being so nice to me. That kind of attitude doesn't exist in the world we live in, anymore. At least not out of the kindness of their hearts. There is always some catch, some payment that must be given."
"And we will get it, too, one way or another," Kaye said at the end of the hallway before rounding the corner, disappearing.
Raider sighed softly and looked off to the side forlornly.

Kaye didn't wait for Leith to catch up as she made her way out the vault's exit, which was stupid on her part. She wasn't thinking of the dangers that could be lurking in the woods, hiding in wait to take advantage of a person's situation, someone like an unsuspecting, lonesome girl such as herself. As she got outside, though, she wasn't as alone as she had hoped and almost smacked straight into the back of Jace, who looked as angry as always.
"You know, if you keep scrunching your face like that, it's going to permanently be set like that."
Jace scowled and shot a glare in her direction. "Now is not the time, woman."
She held her hands up in mock surrender. "God, who shit in your corn flakes this time?" Well, it could have been a number of people, actually, but she didn't bother to make a comment on it.
"Here they are, Basil, the answer to your problems. If you want to walk off into the sunset together, now is your chance."
Kaye smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Trouble in paradise again, boys? You know, you really need to get laid, Jace. All that anger would melt away in an instant..."
Jace blushed and turned his gaze away from them both to try hiding it. "Shut up."

"Shut up, Kaye," Basil said with a huff, shaking his head in exasperation. He then stood up from his perch on a boulder a good fifteen feet from where Jace stood. He then noticed Leith coming out, then the... "Who's that, Leith?"
Leith was relieved to see that Basil hadn't left without them, as a part of him suspected he would have. In this situation, Basil would be the one more likely to take his stance; however, there was a glint in his eye at the moment. Clearly, he wasn't happy. He assumed that it had to do with that Brotherhood of Steel woman, but with how he was far from Jace, who also looked like he'd just swallowed half a gallon of sour milk before he finally tasted it, there was probably more to the story than that.
"He's one of the victims of the security downstairs," Leith said, leaving out the raider part for now. He gestured towards his shoulder. "Basil, aren't you a doctor or something close enough? Could you take a look at him?"
Basil seemed to consider it, then sighed and said, his features softening as he noticed the boy's injury, "Sure. Though I don't know how much I can actually do. I've worked with more machines than people."

Raider instantly stiffened when the ghoul told someone to look at his injuries and took an involuntary step back. "Just who are they? I thought it was only the two of you?"
"It isjust the two of them," Jace said, narrowing his eyes in their direction. "We have completed our side of the bargain. Our debts have been paid."
"You really call that payment? We couldn't even get into the building due to the security! I think you owe us another vault."
"Like hell! We did exactly what we said we would do; we held up our end of the bargain. It isn't our faults there were obstacles in the way that we warned you of in advance."
"It is my money and I say you still owe us for saving your life."
Jace gave something that looked between a grin and a grimace. "Keep dreaming, buttercup."

Basil sighed, but decided to focus on the injured person instead of Kaye and Jace; they could resolve that issue on their own. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. And yes, I know that promises aren't worth much out here, but I highly doubt that the bullet is going to just come out of its own accord. So you either let it stay there and the wound get infected or you give me the opportunity to prevent that. Your choice."
"Damn, Basil, harsher than usual," Leith commented.
"It's been a long day, Leith. And it just progressively gets worse. So excuse me for lacking a...bedside manner at present."

Raider cursed mentally, knowing that he was right. Even if he refused the treatment to risk being killed by this person, he would be dead, anyways, if he didn't do anything about the festering wound. He released a shaky breath and nodded once. "I-Is it going to hurt?" He hated the waver in his voice for it made him seem weak in front of his enemies.

Basil thought for a moment, then said, "I'll give you a small dose of Med-X. We don't have much left, but otherwise, yes, this would hurt quite a bit." Taking off his pack, he looked around inside and pulled out his first-aid kit. Opening it, he began to prepare everything that he'd need. "I only have enough for basic treatment of this. Once we arrive in another town, he'll need to check in with a doctor who has more supplies to properly take care of the rest. If we head out soon, we should be able to arrive there within an hour or two." He looked over at the boy. "I would give you a Stim-pak, but I have no way of knowing whether or not the bullet shattered upon breaking skin until I actually...get in there. If it's a whole bullet, I'll give you a Stim-pak and you should be fine within a few hours. But if not, you're not getting one. We don't need the wound healing when you have lead festering inside you. But first, what was it that shot you--like, do you know what kind of gun or was it a turret instead?"

"It was a minigun. A ricochet bullet, I think, or I would be riddled with bullet holes right now." Raider sighed softly. "That is what mowed down everyone else I was with."

Basil pursed his lips for a moment, then said quietly, "I'm sorry to...to hear that." He then lifted the syringe of Med-X, and said, "The first injection will sting a bit, but within ten or fifteen minutes, you'll cease to feel much for the next couple hours or so. Then we'll begin with the removal and I'll see what I can do from there. I'd recommend taking a deep breath and holding it while I inject it. You'll feel it less that way. So, you ready?"

'No...not really.' "Just get it over with," Raider said softly, accidentally releasing a small whimper. He took a deep breath and held it in, just as instructed. Once it was injected, he released a small grunt of pain and closed his eyes tightly. Just as he'd promised, the pain started to dissipate after a few minutes.
Jace watched from the corner of his eye as Basil started helping the boy. He hated that they were wasting their supplies on a complete stranger, but he wasn't completely heartless to let a boy suffer like that.
"Hurry up so we can go," Jace muttered.
"I'm with Jace on this one," Kaye muttered as well. "Get the brat up and moving so we can get out of here."
"You're not going with us."
She turned her head to look up at Jace, smirking. "I'd like to see try to stop me."

"Look, we're all going to the same place, right?" Leith inquired, glancing between everyone. Basil, absorbed in his current task, did not respond, so Leith looked expectantly at Kaye and Jace. Before they could answer, however, he continued, "All of us intend to reach the nearest town, then do what we need to do there. How about we all focus on accomplishing that goal for now? Then, once we arrive there, we can...work all of this out. Go forth together, go our separate ways, whatever we decide is the best course of action after we have a few hours to think about it. But until then, it's safer if we work together. Especially when the Brotherhood could be anywhere out here."

"What we should be doing is hunting down the Brotherhood bastard who took what was rightfully ours," Jace said before gritting his teeth in anger.
"Are you kidding me? You would be dead in an hour after attacking them. We all would be," Kaye said. "I'm actually quite worried about you. If you attack one of the Brotherhood, then you will be dead. If you don't value your life enough to save yourself, then do it for Basil."
He gave a grunt, not saying anything more. Perhaps she was right, but they were here to risk their lives to complete the mission. It was true he didn't want to bring intentional harm to Basil, but he had a hard time fighting the feeling as if that had been the last G.E.C.K. in the world.

"There will be more than one G.E.C.K., Jace, considering that the government commissioned one hundred and twenty-two Vaults," Basil said idly as he continued his work, "And yes, not all of them were granted one, with Vault 101 being a prime example. However, I'm certain that we will find another. It'll just take more time."
"There's also the fact that certain Vaults were even granted more than one of the damn things," Leith said. He leaned against the wall of the Vault, staring at the ground with a hardened expression. "You'll find another. You just need to be patient. All good things are elusive. Isn't that how the saying goes? Eh, close enough. It got my point across."

Jace knew that all too well. Over the years he'd seen too many people suffering while looking for the good things that were needed for their survival and spent their lives up to their last days searching, never to find it. That was the last thing Jace wanted to happen for them, but there was nothing more that they could do but keep moving forward.
"Yeah..." Jace said softly. "Hopefully we will find it...hopefully."
"Quit worrying so much," Kaye said, nudging his shoulder a few times before throwing her arms around his shoulders in a hug. He tensed at her actions but didn't stop her. "You will worry yourself gray. Just let the puzzle pieces fall into place on their own and eventually it will all come together for the finished product."

"Yeah, what Kaye said," Leith said. He weakly threw up one fist in the air, as if bro-fisting the clouds. "Optimism! Whoop-whoop!"
"We're almost done here," Basil said, giving Leith a concerned, sidelong glance. He then looked back at the boy, smiling softly. "Luckily for you, I'm 99.99% certain that the bullet is whole. And it's out. So that's a good thing. I'll give you the Stim-pak, though I still advise that you see a doctor as soon as we arrive in the town. Just to make sure that everything's fine and will heal properly."

"Thank you. I don't have any money to pay you or any material possessions for that matter, but I can think of something if it is payment you want." Raider fell silent, watching the guy as he put away his supplies.
Jace looked over at the kid, staring for a moment. He didn't know what it was but something about that statement disturbed him. Why did he sound so upset, especially for just having his life saved? "You'll think of something."
Raider nodded and looked at the ground, confusing Jace further. Just what was wrong with this guy?
"Hey...you good, kid?" Kaye asked.
"Yeah, I'm good now that my wounds are healing."
"That's not what I mean."
He fell silent for awhile before speaking once more, "can we leave now?"