(Fallout Novel) Ch 8: The Mayor of Diamond City

Chapter 7: Same Old Story, Whole New Century

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On the front porch stood none other than the guard from the gate, his jaw clenched tight and a vein popping on his forehead. To make matters worse, he had Ilya in hand and what looked like a brand new laser pistol from the armory. My eyes flitted between all three of them before it dawned on me what must have happened.

You've got to be kidding me.

"Jacob Burns?" the man said more than asked. I looked at Piper, but she only shrugged as if to say, What do you want me to do about it?

Well shit.

"…Yeah?" I replied.

Without another word he grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and the next thing I knew we were being dragged off like a couple of common criminals. To my surprise, however, we passed right by the security office and instead headed straight for a lift marked "Mayor's Office". Looks like we'd garnered more attention than we'd bargained for. The brute dumped us to the ground as he pressed in the passcode and the lift began to rise into the scaffolding. The man stood in fuming silence as the lift came to a stop and he hurled the both of us into the reception area.

"AHH! Ow, that hurt! How dare you, you great brute! You'll be hearing from my lawyer about this!" Ilya hollered at him, but the man only laughed as he walked by a confused looking secretary and into the next room.

"What the hell happened back there?" I hissed as soon as the man was gone, "I thought I told you to blend in, whatever happened to that?"

"Bottle caps, that's what happened!" She hissed back as we both got to our feet. "You gave me a bag of bottle caps, what was I supposed to do?"

"So you stole a laser pistol?" I groaned, "What the hell do you need a laser pistol for?"

"Well I'm going to have to defend myself somehow if I'm going to find my father's vault," she said as she dusted herself off and sat down on the hard sofa.

"Are you still going on about that? I thought we put that nonsense behind us. What else did you try to steal?"

"Well, let's see, I got a canteen, a pack of stimpaks, a couple bandages, the gun, obviously, and uh… oh right. A little bit of ammo to go with it, but that was right about the time I got caught… of course," she pouted.

"What?! Why not try taking the whole armory with you while you're at it? Sheesh, you could've at least picked a better time. It's packed to the gills out there, and with everyone on edge as they are… Why would you think that was a good idea?"

"Maybe because you gave me junk?"

"I told you to do one thing, one thing," I said, exasperated. I slumped down into the seat next to her, barely able to believe my luck. "Just stay out of trouble, that's all I asked, and you couldn't even manage that! And to think you wanted to drag me halfway across the Commonwealth…"

"Bottle. CAPS!" She hissed again.

"IS. MONEY!" I yelled as I jumped up. The guards had their weapons trained on me in two seconds flat, but I didn't care. Didn't this girl know the first thing about anything? "It's cash, dinero, moolah, scratch, dough. IT'S MONEY, KID! Please tell me you still have them at least?"

When she couldn't look me in the eyes, I knew.

"Oh god, you threw them out," I said as I slumped back into the seat. Now I really had nothing. Not a bullet, not a cap, and not a chance in hell out of this one.

Just then, the guard came back out of the other room.

"The Mayah will see youse now Jacob Burns." The man said with relish as he ushered me inside. As I looked back at Ilya I tried to give her a look of encouragement, but it only came out as a weak smile.

*******

A long mahogany table stretched out before me, with several ornate dining chairs to match. The interior of the old commentator's box had undergone quite the transformation since I'd last seen it. Gone were the beat up old furniture and crowded stacks of files, replaced by the fine Old World relics and ornate trimmings one would find in only the best-preserved ruins of the upper-class.

Even with all those seats, I chose to stand. Something about all that extravagance made me uncomfortable, even a little sick to my stomach. I heard the click of the door behind me as the guard left me alone.

I didn't have to wait long. Just then the Mayor came blustering in, working up more of a sweat than usual. His rotund figure and ever tightening pants had a way of making him look like a ham stuffed into a white suit.

"Jacob!" he said, his jowls quivering in agitation. "It really is you, why I thought I told you to never come back here again! I've got a flood of refugees at my door, a clan of Super Mutants pushing on my territory, and a synth problem that just won't go away, and yet the worst thing to happen to me all day was you show up." He said as he went to the bar and poured himself a drink.

I laughed to myself, remembering the good old days when all the mayor did was deny deny deny. Piper worked hard to expose the truth about the synths, and once she finally had, how was she rewarded? By the mayor flipping the script like a true politician. Suddenly he'd always been against the synths and he pandered to the people by shutting the gates up tight. He was the kind of man that would tell you the sky was green if it suited popular opinion, a flaw I knew I could exploit.

"You know McDonough," I began silkily. "I get why you're worried about the Brotherhood. We have technology that could flatten a burg like this in two seconds flat. But that kinda tech is a million miles away, as is anyone who could pose a real threat to you, but you know who isn't? Why your good friendly neighbors to the east, that's who…"

"Hancock doesn't take too kindly to people messing with his business, and as it stands, I'm still his business. I'm sure you've heard about the deal we've struck, how I'm under his protection so long as I'm in his territory and you and I both know how far his territory goes… So unless you feel like picking a fight with Goodneighbor, you better let me and the kid go." I smiled to myself. It might have been a lie, but there was no way he'd risk that kind of confrontation with a faction so close. Besides, what were the chances I'd been spotted coming out of the mine, anyway? As far as anybody knew, I was nuclear waste and fifty feet under.

"Hmm, yes. Funny you should mention my good-for-nothing brother…" He said with a scowl on his face. I felt my heart sink into my chest as he reached over to an old radio and flipped the switch.

"Funny indeed, as he just happens to have a few words to say on the matter himself." He turned the dial and the quivering, uncertain voice of the local radio host quickly changed to static until at last, he picked up another signal, with a voice I'd recognize anywhere.

"Listen up Commonwealth!" the man practically snarled, "This is John Hancock, Mayor of Goodneighbor, and I got a little message for my good, good friend, Jacob Burns." His voice lowered dangerously, as rough and jagged as a rusty dagger.

"We had a deal Burnsie… you and I. I don't know what that means where you come from, but here? It's as good as blood. You gave me your word as a man, and yet here I stand empty handed just like I knew I would be. Makes me think I shoulda listened to Fahrenheit and lit you up like the 4th of July. I mean, leading a band of ghouls and freaks into an ambush? Dear old Maxson would be so proud…"

"Well, friend, you better tuck that tail under and come crawling home like the dog you are, because if someone else has to drag you back for me, then you better believe I won't be putting you down easy…"

"So, Commonwealth! You heard what I said and that's right. I gotta right pretty pile of caps here going out to the first scavver to bring me Burns alive. Now that don't mean go easy on Old Burnsie, but he better be breathing when he gets here, because that bastard's mine!"

"So Burns, what's it gonna be? I get my money or I get your head. Either works for me, because as you know, a good neighbor always pays his debts…"

"Always."

The message ended and the mayor switched off the radio before it could start again, just fine with me as I didn't think I could stomach hearing it again anyway. This whole trip was starting to play out like one bad joke. I swallowed the lump in my throat as he sat down at the table's end, folded his hands, and gave me a long hard look.

"Ah ha ha ha," I laughed nervously as I scratched the back of my head, racking my brain for something to say, but I had nothing.

"So, now you see the predicament you've put me in? If I hand you over to Hancock, then I have an entire army tearing down my door, but if I give you to the Brotherhood, well, who knows what my dear little brother would do…" The mayor trailed off as he took out a handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead. Hancock had always had a way of knowing exactly how to make your life a living hell.

"And then there's your little friend to contend with," he continued, "I haven't the foggiest idea what to do with her. No room left in the jail and Outfield's bursting at the seams, so I suppose banishment is all that's left."

"Now hold on a minute McDonough," I said, my voice finding itself again, "You can't just throw her to the Super Mutants, she's just a dumb vault dweller who ain't got a clue, I swear."

"As though your word has any clout here!" He laughed, his fat belly threatening to bust his belt. "Besides, what do I need another dweller from Vault 81 for? They're all useless to me." He waved his hand dismissively at the notion, but that's when I got a crazy idea. A truly mad and outlandish idea.

I could tell the truth. Well, most of it at least…

"What if she wasn't from Vault 81? What if she was from a new vault?"

"Oh, don't try to play me like that, there hasn't been a new vault discovered in the Commonwealth for over one hundred years. This must be the same ploy you tried with my brother, isn't it?

"But it's true!" I said, and for the first time, I meant it too. "She's from a brand new vault just outside of Cambridge, never been opened before. This girl was the only one alive, but we made it out before the damn thing collapsed. C'mon McDonough, you know how the people love a good vault story, just imagine what it would do for your numbers! You'd have a new mascot for your town, and all the support you'd need to win every election from here to eternity. And I can convince her to stay, all you have to do is keep quiet that I was ever here and let me slip out into the night.

"Hmm… it is interesting," he said and I felt a brief flash of hope. "What number was the vault? Do you know what the experiment was?"

"Oh… uh, it didn't really have a number. Or an experiment, but it is real!" I said hurriedly, but I could already see the disbelief on his face.

"My city is bursting at the seams as it is, and you want me to take in a thieving little nobody from a numberless vault that had no experiment whatsoever? I don't think so Jacob, in fact, I'd be better off handing her over to Goodneighbor to appease my little brother. A pretty face always had away of keeping him busy for a couple of weeks, enough time to get you off to the Citadel and face justice at the very least."

"You wouldn't dare," I growled.

"I most certainly would! It makes the most sense overall, it keeps both the Brotherhood and Hancock off my back and takes care of two trouble makers at the same time. All my problems solved in one fell move. I warned you, Jacob, I told you what would happen if I ever saw you again, and now, your radhens have come home to roost."

My head was spinning, everything was coming down around me. I was screaming inside my head but there was nothing I could do but watch as the mayor reached for the intercom and buzzed into the other room.

"Geneva dear, please alert the Brotherhood that I have Jacob Burns in custody and then arrange a meeting with Goodneighbor about taking in-"

"She's from before the war!" I blurted out, it was a Hail Mary for sure, but it was the last bargaining chip I had. If the girl wasn't interesting enough for him to take in, then we were both screwed.

The mayor took his finger off the button. "What was that?"

"The girl, she's from before the war. She was frozen in cryo-freeze for over two hundred years, her dad was some big shot at Vault-Tec and had a special one made just for her. Now, don't send her out there!" I said, exasperated. The mayor looked shocked as he stared me down.

"A… new vault you say? Are you sure? It wasn't, oh say, 111?" I couldn't believe my ears, there may be a chance after all.

"N-no, definitely not."

"And right outside of Cambridge? You don't say? You don't say…" He trailed off as he fidgeted with his drink.

"Please excuse me," he said all of a sudden.

"Wait, what?" But I didn't get an answer, the mayor was on his feet and out of the room in seconds, leaving me standing there completely confused. I could hear voices in the next room, but I couldn't make out a word.

The longer he made me wait, the more anxious I got. This was already too good to be true and I was starting to wonder whether I should have said anything at all. Piper's voice was ringing in my ears, old warnings from long ago that the mayor couldn't be trusted, but then again, she had always been the conspiracy theorist in the house, not me.

At last the mayor came back into the room, looking paler than usual as if he'd come down with a bad case of rad poisoning in the last ten minutes. He went to the door to make sure it was shut tight before going back around the table.

"Please take a seat, Jacob," he said, though I didn't believe the sincerity behind it.

"I'm fine thanks."

"I really think you should have a seat. Would you like a drink?"

"Uh… no, I'll pass," I said as I watched him pour another for himself. Something definitely wasn't right. Mayor McDonough was known about as much for his hospitality as his brother, that is to say, not at all.

"There is… someone who would like to speak with you."

"What's the matter McDonough, don't you run your own city?" I laughed as the man fidgeted nervously across from me. "So who is he? Who's the moneybags that's got you set up so nice, eh? Shoulda known you'd be up for sale." The mayor didn't respond, he kept staring at the table as if he were about to be sick.

"He'll… be here… any minute," he said as he took several deep breaths. I cast my eyes to the doorway, wondering who on earth could get the mayor in such a state.

Suddenly, the mayor collapsed on the table with a dull thud.

"What the hell?!" He wasn't moving, he wasn't breathing, but his eyes were wide open in a cold, glassy stare.

Oh my God, is he? He is! I thought. What the fuck just happened? One second the man's just fine, the next he's stone cold dead on the table! That certainly wouldn't sit well with the guards when they found me alone with their beloved mayor's corpse, that's for sure, but I had no idea what to do. I tried to think of something, but all I could hear was static coming from the radio.

Suddenly, the mayor jolted up as if he'd been prodded with an electrical wire. My heart hammered in my chest, those glassy eyes staring right through me. I wasn't sure if I should call for help or make a run for it, but as the skin around his mouth stretched and tightened into a mad smile, a foul terror ripped through me.

The thing that was once McDonough smiled again, and spoke in a voice entirely not his own.

"Hello Jacob, so very nice to meet you at last."