Protecting the Water Way Protecting the Water Way is a " Fallout 3 " side quest that is added to the game in the " Broken Steel " add - on . Detailed walkthrough . Scribe Bigsley asks the Lone Wanderer to investigate the organized bandit attacks on the Aqua Pura caravans , directing The Lone Wanderer to speak with Officer Lepelletier of Rivet City to learn more details about the attacks . It should be noted that you don ' t have to talk to Scribe Bigsley at all , Officer Lepelletier will give you the quest as well . Consult Officer Lepelletier . You can find Officer Lepelletier once you leave the quick travel point to Rivet City , underneath the water beggar on the first floor of the ramp area entrance of Rivet City . She will explain that a water caravan heading towards Canterbury Commons has just left the Jefferson Memorial and will ask you to travel with the caravan and discover who is behind the hijacking . You are asked to catch up with it , and talk with Officers Davis and Lorin who are traveling with the caravan . Passing an easy Speech check with Lepelletier can net you a plasma rifle and a few microfusion cells before departing to protect the caravan . Meet Officers Davis and Lorin north of Project Purity . Following the river leads the player to the caravan just as it is ambushed by three bandit s . The ambush point seems to be at a constant location , under the large bridge between the Citadel and the D . C . Ruins . If you hurry there you can save the lives of the two guards but the caravan driver will always be dead . There is also a scavenger camped out under the bridge who will help fight the bandits and can be saved as well . It is rather difficult to save their lives in time without some precognition ( i . e . leaving a high - powered follower at the site of the ambush prior to triggering the quest ) , which pretty much suggests it is part of the plot , to witness their demise . Find out who is responsible for the attacks . Upon searching any of the bandits you find a holotape titled New meeting place from Split Jack , the bandit leader , instructing the bandits to group at Wilhelm ' s Wharf . Deal with Split Jack and his gang . When reaching Wilhelm ' s Wharf , you can speak to Split Jack ( the password is " mirelurk stew " ) and pass a difficult Speech challenge to persuade him to give up . Please note that if the Speech check is passed successfully then Grandma Sparkle is likely to be immediately killed by the bandits . Failing that , Jack has to be killed either simply by attacking him and his men , or by joining his gang and then slaying him in a duel for leadership of the gang . If you choose to join their gang , you will receive a metal armor and helmet , which you must wear before Split Jack will talk to you again . He will ask you to sit down and wait for " other gang members to arrive " ; however , no matter whether the player sits and waits or not , no further events are triggered . This is most likely because the other " gang members " you ' re waiting for are the ones you killed at the ambush . At this time the player can go speak with Split Jack and pass a Speech check convincing him that no one would pay for the waters if they could just get it for free , in this scenario Split Jack would simply call off his scheme and take off with his gang to " blow off some steam " . Alternatively , you can challenge Split Jack to fight to the death , in which case he lets you choose one of three melee weapon s to fight with ( lead pipe , combat knife or nail board ) . As long as you fight him with the weapon he gives you none of the gang members attack you , and will instead cheer on the fight . The melee fight is by no means a push - over , especially on harder difficulties if you stay with the mediocre metal armor you are provided and do not take any drugs . Split Jack has high HP and blocks well , and , more importantly , the item HP of the weapon you get is low , making it quite possible that the weapon will break before Jack is dead . You can replace it with another weapon of the same type , or , even smarter , come prepared to repair the original you are given and do so the instant he gives it to you . If you hit Jack with your fists or any other weapon , the entire gang will become hostile , requiring you to kill them all . Note that choosing a nail board is especially difficult , as Jack will block almost every swing you initiate and your weapon will deteriorate quickly ( Jack ' s will not deteriorate ) . Any follower will attack and cause the rest of the gang to become hostile so make sure you are alone or to tell your follower to wait inside Grandma Sparkle ' s house . The melee fight can be made fairly easy by switching your armor to Chinese stealth armor or popping a Stealth Boy . Keep stealth until your indicator goes to [ hidden ] then hit him with a sneak attack . Back off and wait for [ hidden ] again , then repeat . Do this 3 times and you should kill him without ever getting hurt . Another good tactic is to rush in and hit him then back off and repeat , doing this he will rarely get any hits on you and makes the fight much easier . If you have completed the Operation : Anchorage ! add - on the T - 51b power armor is very effective and you will take almost no damage while using knives . After the duel , one of the unnamed bandits approaches you , stating that while they do not want another leader and that you should speak with Lepelletier about a " protection " contract . You will be able to interact with them again after making your choice with Lepelletier ( see below ) . It is possible that even if you use the weapon Split Jack gives you exclusively , they will turn hostile after you win the duel , making further dialogue with them impossible . Report to Officer Lepelletier . If you choose not to side with the bandits , Lepelletier thanks you for your assistance , but is unable to reward you and asks you to speak to Scribe Bigsley in order to receive the reward which consists of some captured Enclave gear - Enclave power armor and matching helmet , a Gatling laser , a plasma pistol and ammunition for the same . The quest will finish then . If you have joined the bandits and killed Split Jack , you will be given two extortionist options that will both decrease your Karma ( by 200 points ) . These dialog options are only available if you ' ve spoken with the other bandits after killing Split Jack . The first option is to blackmail Lepelletier for 500 caps immediately after passing a Speech check in exchange for stopping the attacks . You can tell her that you want 500 caps now , and 500 caps after the attacks have stopped , but she will refuse and still only give you 500 caps . The second option is to make her pay a weekly " protection fee " of 200 caps for the bandits ' stopping their attacks . If you choose the latter , you can periodically talk to the bandits at the wharf for a share of the 200 caps for the rest of the game . The quest finishes upon finishing these dialogue options . If you take any of the evil options , Lepelletier will tell you that she will kill you if you ever talk to her again ; and indeed , if you speak to her again she becomes hostile , and so do the Rivet City guards outside the ship ( but not inside the city itself ) . Meanwhile , if you take any option other than the " protection fee " choice , the remaining bandits at the wharf will accuse you of backstabbing them and attack you on sight . Notes . At the ambush site :