Tsar Gatto — Roleplayer Guild

“So, is there anywhere is this town where we could drink this, preferably without a bunch of psychotic fucks busting in the door and trying to kill us? Because I’m getting kind of tired of it”. 

She tried to speak lightly but the pressure of everything she was facing leaked into her voice, her lingering gaze though she didn’t intend it gave away that she was reaching the end of her endurance, that she in a roundabout way was asking for help. 

 "Not really,"  Dallen replied bluntly.   "Psychotic fucks are all that's left, they're around every corner.  Should of stayed in your vault, red."  

Dallen snatched the bottle of tequila and took a quick chug of it, before handing it back to her. Annelise gazed at the bottle of murky liquid for a moment and threw all caution to the wind and she too took a large chug from the bottle. Seconds later she grimaced and shuddered slightly at the burning sensation, it was what she had expected and she simply frowned and took another swig forcing the drink down. 

The pair made their way out of the burning Desperado, just before the fire really picked up.  As he and the vault dweller made it outside, a small group of people were coming to the streets to watch the flames flicker and burn.  Dallen took the moment to join them, staring back at the fire in brief thought.  Maybe she knew something about the map.  She was a dweller, after all.

 "There's a diner in the Imperial,"  Dallen told her.   "That's about as safe as it gets.  I'll buy us some food and rooms, separate rooms, and maybe you can help me out with some questions I might have.  Deal?  Just some, vault questions." 

Annelise raised her eyebrows in surprise at his generosity and just about mumbled her thanks as she followed behind him. She didn’t want to let her guard down but she was just so exhausted that right now she didn’t have it in her to do much other than follow behind him and let her tired eyes gaze around watching for any potential threats. 

Without waiting for her to agree, Dallen made his way in the direction of the Imperial.  He was beginning to tire, as he realized his stomach growling.  He hadn't eaten anything all day.  The last meal he could remember was a rad roach.  

As the Desperado's fire became distant and the Imperials massive pillars came into view, a tired Dallen pulled out another cigarette and lit it up.  His stomach grumbled again, as he filled his lungs with even more smoke.  Annelise watched him, again too tired to voice her bewilderment at his choice to smoke. Normally she’d have launched some smartass comment about his life choices, but right now it didn’t seem appropriate even if she did have the energy and desire to do so – in fact right now she felt more like asking him for one than anything else.  

 "So, what brings you here?  What made you leave the vault?"  Dallen asked breaking the silence again.  He didn't want to press the woman to much, but he could already tell she was vault fresh.  He remembered his very first time in the wilderness of the wastes, he remembered the feeling of it all.  

She gazed at the imperial before them and licked her dry lips absently before she took another swig from the bottle before she handed it back to him and responded dryly “In hindsight I’ve got no idea why I chose to leave…” Her voice caught in her throat as she thought back over the others, images of their bodies flashing through her mind as she once more felt overwhelmed.  “I…I… uh, it’s a long story” she finished slightly dejected  as she used every ounce of her remaining strength to hold herself together as she clenched her jaw together. 

Even as the woman spoke, he could tell the exhaustion was talking hold of her.  It was for himself as well, though he felt he could go for a while longer yet if need be.  The Donna would be waiting for him to complete his mission, however she never told him whether it all had to be in one day.  Besides, he chose the Imperial to stay at just in case Rickman showed up anyway.

As the two entered the Imperial, they walked on over to the diner as the doorman approached.   "Tell you what, we're both tired,"  Dallen said.   "Why don't we just get some rest, meet here in the morning?  Two rooms, please."   

The doorman nodded and told them, "Rooms 1 and 2, just behind those doors."

Dallen handed over the caps and then looked back at the vault girl.  He took another shot from the bottle and then handed it back to her.   "To be continued,"  he said.

She summoned the willpower to smile at him as she thanked him for the room and took the bottle as she watched him go before she too disappeared into her room. 

Normally Dallen had nightmares every night.  He'd see the people he lost, the people he's killed.  He'd see his wife again, but only versions of her from after her death.  This night, however, he slept peacefully.  It wasn't the tequila or the bed he slept on, it was something else.  His thoughts seemed to be only of project Hamilton.  Vault 96.  

One room away Annelise too slept soundly, though the tequila and her exhaustion had a lot to do with it. Despite her state it had taken her quite some time to doze off, her mind seemingly unable to switch off as she thought over what had happened again and again as she fought off bouts of tears. It was only when she’d consumed another few large gulps of drink was she able to finally fall asleep, though it was far from dreamless. 

****

He awoke with the first light of the sun, as the rays flickered in through the window blinds.  Having slept in his attire, it didn't take him very long to be up and ready.  After washing his face and brushing his teeth with a questionable hotel provided toothbrush, he made his way back down to the lobby diner of the Imperial.  

 "Coffee, please,"  he ordered, as he sat in wait for the vault dweller.  He'd give her some time to show, but a feeling in him said she'd be half way to Mexico by now.  It didn't matter either way, as his plans for the day still stood.  Find and kill Rickman, then head to the camp where the pagans were being held.  Whether Red showed back up or not was just an added bonus.

Annelise woke slowly and groggily, feeling far worse than she had in a long time which considering yesterday was quite the achievement. Not only was her body still protesting it’s mistreatment but her head too was throbbing. She hadn’t drunk that much but it had been on an empty stomach and that seemed to have been enough. As if to remind her as she swung her legs off the bed it growled its objections and she groaned as she rose to her feet and made her way into what passed as the bathroom to the little room. The mirror was dirty and cracked, but otherwise did the job. She looked at herself and frowned – it was almost like she belonged in the wasteland now. The bruises around her neck and on her face were slowly disappearing, but not before they’d turned a deep shade of blackish-purple. Her hair was a bit of a tangled mess and still had bits of ash and dirt mixed in, as did her face and hands. Right now she would have given anything to be back in the vault with a shower and some real food. Instead she settled for cleaning herself as best she could, scrubbing at her face and hands before she washed her hair in the sink before finally feeling a little more human and ready to meet with her new ‘friend’ as she left the room. 

As the vault dweller finally showed, Dallen placed his map on the table he was sitting at and took a sip of his coffee.   "Does this mean anything to you?"  he asked.    

Annelise sat down and peered at the somewhat tatty map that he’d spread across the table somewhat interestedly, she’d never actually seen a map on paper before and spent a few moments examining it. Something twinged in the back of her mind as she examined the landscape and the marked location. 

“Huh” she wondered aloud as she lifted her pip-boy and flicked across several of the pages before she stopped on the map. She turned another dial a few times before she inhaled sharply and gazed from the screen to the map and back several times. It was unmistakable, the location highlighted on his map matched the location that Carrie had pulled from the vault mainframe almost identically so. 

“It actually means something to me yeah…” she ventured slowly, unsure of what exactly he was asking or if she even had the answers he was looking for “and good morning to you too” she added with a touch of light sarcasm finally feeling a little more like herself as she too ordered a coffee, her mind far from the tragedy that had led her here.

“Well” she said as she took a sip of the coffee before suddenly stopping as she grimaced again and stared down at the mug as if it’d just told her to go fuck herself. “They call this coffee?” she asked him with an expression of bewilderment before she continued “so long story short I don’t know what exactly is there, but I do know that in all likelihood there is some kind of high-tech facility there”. She held up her pip-boy screen for him to see as she quickly pointed to the similarities on the two maps “Carr… someone I knew pulled these coordinates from our own vault mainframe. We were looking for a reverse-osmosis machine or at least parts we can use to fix our own. That was the only location we could come up with since our mainframe had been fried years ago.” 

The server, a rather pasty looking youth approached them again, this time to see if they wanted any food or a drink refill. Annelise glanced around at the rather unappetising array of food on the other few patron’s plates and after a few moments asked for some sugar-bombs, still not able to bring herself to eat anything that had once lived out in the wasteland. 
  "Two sweet rolls, as well,"  Dallen added to the order, of which he had full intent to pay for.   "And, uhm, whiskey." 
Again Annelise raised her brows at him, alcohol this early? Sure  there wasn’t much out here to occupy people, but it seemed a bit much to have whisky with breakfast. 
As the server nodded and made his exit from view, Dallen glanced over at the vault girl, uncaring yet curious.  His job, which in the current moment was still ongoing, required a lot from a person.  Sometimes the job required certain emotions to be forced to become void.  After awhile of that, it becomes second nature.  Such a lifestyle required whiskey, lots, and lots of whiskey.  In a way, it made everything seem right.
Dallen realized the situation.  She needed to go to save her people, he needed to go for...what?  Because he overheard a conversation with Breckinridge?  Because his ego was edging him to finish this out?  All Dallen had to do was let it go.  Get his caps from the Pagans, then be on his merry.  This time tomorrow he could be half way to New New Mexico, but he had to see it out.  In a sense of his mind, Breckinridge's death couldn't have been for nothing.  It was the secret.  The secret of project Hammilton.  It was simply just something different for an aging merc.  He had to know what was there.  

 "My name's Dallen, by the way,"   he said.   "Dallen Larson." 
The server was quick with the sweetrolls, sugarbombs, and whiskey.  Dallen quickly took his shot and lit up a cigarette right after.  He sat back in his chair and relaxed.  He already knew that things in his life were about to get more hectic.

 "You need the parts, I need what's inside,"  Dallen said.   "You're a good shot, but being out that long in the wastes, you're 'gonna need to be better.  I can get you there, I'll even get you back to your people with the parts you need.  I just need you to guide me.  I need your pip-boy to open the vault.  What do you say?" 

Annelise thought for a brief moment before she nodded and stuck her hand out for him to shake  “Annelise Fuentes, and you have yourself a deal”. She didn’t know why she already was agreeing to work with this man, but after all she didn’t really have much of an alternative. Nearly everyone else she’d met had either tried to kill her or leave her to die -  everyone apart from Dallen that was. 
As he was about to extend his hand to return her handshake, he noticed a man yelling at others in the background.  It wasn't loud yelling, yet the voice was clearly heard as it carried over the few others conversing in the diner.  A man in a suit yelling at the employees of the Imperial casino.  Had to be Rickman.  The manager...his mark.  After the man finished scolding his workers, he went off down the hall.

 "Uhm, I'll be right back,"  Dallen told the vault dweller. 

Annelise watched him stand and make his way into the casino with a perplexed expression. She ripped open the tatty box of sugar bombs and started to cram the morsels in her mouth as she ate quickly, suddenly reminded of her hunger. It wasn’t much but it was damned better than anything else. Still watching Dallen curiously out of one eye she quickly removed her bag and pulled out the array of tools and various bits of scrap she had purchased yesterday before she removed the functioning laser pistol and placed it on the table with the remains of her old rifle – dried blood still encrusted into what was left of the emitter and crystal array. She sighed sadly at the sight of the bent and broken thing, but wasted little time as she started to work on cannibalising parts from the laser-pistol as she started to rebuild her AER9 – she had a feeling she would be needing it again soon one way or another.
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