RotLW Chapter 4: Power of the Atom

Billy Creel, at least that's what he called himself, was sitting at the Brass Lantern Bar n' Grill next to a black and blue Marcus. Jenny Stahl, the owner of the Brass Lantern, handed Billy an ice pack, who handed it to Marcus. "Thank you." He muttered. He placed the ice on the right side of his face, which was so swollen his eye was nearly shut. Marcus' nose and lip finally stopped bleeding, but the back of his head had to be bandaged.
"I'll say kid," Billy began, "you got some guts standin' up to Moriarty like that. No brains- but guts."
Marcus would've smirked if it didn't hurt so much. Jenny Stahl handed him a bowl of noodles. "On the house."
Marcus looked at her through his one good eye in amazement. "What for?"
Jenny leaned over the bar. "Anybody who can stand up to that creep is okay in my book. Word is you fought pretty good."
Marcus replied with a bitter chuckle. "Yeah, you should see the other guys." He placed the icepack on the back of his head. "I thought he was just a low-life saloon owner."
Billy took a quick look around. "That's just a front, kid. The fact is Moriarty is in with some very dangerous folks."
"Like who?" Marcus asked.
"Talon Company, to name a few." Billy took a sip from his glass. "They some bad umbrae's. They take any rotten job for the right price. Killing, kidnapping, sabotage, ya' name it."
Marcus tried to take a sip of his noodles and winced when the pain hit his lip. "Were those two Talon Company?"
Jenny laughed. "Those two! They're just scum. That one with the eye patch, Jericho, he's a former Raider. Now he's just Moriarty's garbage boy."
Marcus rubbed the back of his head as he remembered it was Jericho who broke the bottle over it. "So Moriarty has dealings with Raiders too?"
Billy took another nervous look around. "He doesn't tell'em how to run things, but, and these just be rumors now, but every Raider from here to Evergreen Milles, and all the way up to the Republic of Dave gives him ten percent of their Jet profits."
"What's Jet?" Marcus asked.
"Drugs, kid. Jet, Med-X, Psycho, really bad stuff." Billy said.
Marcus forced himself to eat another spoon full of noodles. He hadn't eaten anything since the night before, and he was starving. "I guess Lucas Simms was right when he said arresting Moriarty would be complicated."
Both Billy and Jenny became very somber at that moment. Marcus looked at both of them. "What is it?"
Jenny was the first to answer. "It's not just because of his connections. Moriarty has….information on a lot of people. Personal information."
Marcus looked over at Billy, who was staring at the ground. "You mean blackmail."
Jenny nodded. "Yeah, on that little terminal he has in the back of his saloon."
It was as if a light bulb suddenly went on inside Marcus' mind. "Where exactly is this terminal?"
"In the little room just behind and to the right of the bar." Billy said. "It's his office and sleepin' quarters."
Despite the pain on his lips, a smile appeared on Marcus' face. "Thank you both. Is there a place I could crash for the night, and maybe get cleaned up?"
Jenny took away his now empty bowl. "You can sleep in the Common House to the left down that way. As far as a shower goes, afraid we can't help you there?"
"Why's that?" Marcus asked.
"Cause the old water treatment plants been actin' up." Billy said as he pointed over his shoulder. "The whole town's been on water rations ever since. I mean, you could bath with irradiated water, but I wouldn't recommend it."
Marcus thanked them again and headed for the Common House. While he was disappointed about the shower, his spirits were still high. The sun was setting, and in a few hours he would put his plan in motion.
Moriarty's saloon didn't close until midnight, and then it was another hour before all of the lights went out. Marcus waited until after three before he carefully made his way up the catwalk and around the back of the saloon. Just as he figured, there was a locked back door leading inside. Marcus spied through a small rivet hole in the rusted wall of the building. On one end of the back room was Moriarty, fast asleep on a cot. At the other end, nearest to the door, emanating a soft green glow, was a terminal!
'Jackpot.' Marcus thought. Not seeing either of Moriarty's thugs, he quickly went to work picking the lock on the door. During their time of sneaking around the Vault, Amata had taught him how to do this with a couple of bobby pins. It was just blind luck that he still had a few in the pocket of his jumpsuit when he escaped. Marcus heard a click and froze; waiting for the sound of footsteps. There were none. Taking a deep breath, he slowly turned the knob and cracked the door open. He listened again, and there was still only silence. He opened the door a little more and stuck his head inside. Moriarty was still fast asleep. Marcus moved a little faster now and went to work on the computer. The Pipboy 3000 was equipped with a universal, wireless USB plug in that allowed it to interact with any computer. He spent his hours waiting in the Common House experimenting with his new device, and discovered it had a program designed to hack into most terminals.
It didn't take him long to hack into this one. Marcus took a quick look over at Moriarty: still asleep. There was a file marked James Lincoln which Marcus opened. It gave details of their first meeting nineteen years ago, confirming what he had told Marcus about his birth. He quickly scrolled through to the next entry. According to the file, Moriarty gave his father directions to some place called Galaxy News Radio. Marcus immediately remembered hearing Gob and the bar's prostitute, Nova, talking about the radio station.
Marcus continued to scroll through and realized that Moriarty had files on nearly everyone in town, including Billy and Jenny. Quickly he began deleting every one of the files. To Marcus it seemed like it was taking forever, but it was only a minute. He removed the plug in and headed for the door when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. There was a night stand next to the sleeping Moriarty, and on that night stand was Marcus' 10mm pistol. Common sense was screaming for him not to risk it, that he should take this information on his father and get out! But that was his pistol, the last thing Amata had given him, and he wanted it back.
Marcus crouched low and began slowly approaching the table. Silently he pulled out the cerate knife he got off the dead Raider. If Moriarty woke up, Marcus wanted to be ready. He was standing over him now, and Marcus removed the 10mm from the table. For a few moments he stood there and stared down at the old gangster. He could end Moriarty's reign of terror right here and now. All of the misery and lives ruined could end with one move of his finger.
But as he stared down at his gun, the image of Amata flashed into his mind. Marcus realized that while he would be doing the world a favor by killing this scum, there was no honor in doing it this way. He stared down again at Moriarty. 'Someday,' he thought, 'but not today.'
Marcus, however, was not going to just slink out. He quietly poured ashes from a tray on the table where his gun had been sitting. He used the ashes to write the number: 101.
Marcus was halfway down the catwalk when a rather beautiful young woman stopped him in his tracks. "And where are you off too this late in the evening?"
Marcus stood there frozen. This woman with blonde hair and blue eyes looked harmless, but he couldn't be sure who in this town was working for Moriarty. "Who wants to know?"
"I'm Lucy West, and I've been meaning to talk to you since I saw you at the bar."
Marcus started to blush. "Yeah, it seems like everyone saw me there." He stared at her face again and had a sudden recollection. "I remember seeing you sitting in the corner, at a table by yourself."
Lucy betrayed a slight smile as she was flattered that he had remembered seeing her. "That's right. I wanted to talk to you then. I need your help."
Marcus was not expecting this. "Well, I'm sorry Ms. West but I am very busy…."
"Then maybe I should tell Moriarty that you had broken into his saloon."
Damn! Marcus was hoping that she hadn't seen him. His mind was racing at what to do next. He looked down at the knife still in his hand and decided to play tough. "Or may I should just kill you and Moriarty would never know."
Lucy shook her head. "You could, but I don't think you will."
Marcus stepped closer to her. "And why is that?"
Lucy's blue eyes met his. "I see many things in your eyes, but murder is not one of them."
The image of Chief Hannon breathing his last after Marcus put three bullets into him, flashed into his mind. "You have no idea what I am capable of." He whispered.
Lucy stood her ground. Finally, Marcus looked away and sighed in defeat. "Is there some where we can talk in private?"
Lucy smiled. "My place. Come on."
Lucy's home was more like a large, rusted, two-story shack. In the first floor living area, there was a small table, a few chairs, and a refrigerator that did not work. Upstairs was a small room with a dresser and bed. Lucy led Marcus inside. "Here, sit down." She made her way over to the sink next to the refrigerator. "Do you want some water?"
Marcus sat down at the table. "Yes please."
Lucy smiled. "Polite, too. I like that." She filled two glasses and brought them over. "I'm from a town called Arefu, it's to the north from here. " She handed one of the glasses to Marcus. "My parents and brother still live there, and I have been sending messages to them via the caravans that travel between here and there."
Marcus took a sip from his glass. "Let me guess: you haven't heard back from them."
Lucy nodded. "It's been four weeks. It could be nothing, but I need someone to travel with me so that I can see for myself."
"And you want me to be your escort?" Marcus asked.
"That's right."
Marcus finished off the glass of water. "Okay. I found out that Moriarty gave my father directions to some place called Galaxy News Radio, ever hear of it?"
Lucy was a little surprised at the change of subject. "Yeah, I used to listen to it all the time, but the signals been pretty bad lately. I love the disc-jockey Three Dog."
Marcus nodded. "Do you know where it is?"
Lucy finished off her water. "Yeah, it's in the ruins of old D.C. It's pretty hard to get to, though. With all of the wreckage and collapsed buildings the only way to get to it is through the old metro tunnels."
Marcus looked down at his Pipboy. Even with the old world maps, there is no way he could navigate through the metro tunnels on his own. "Alright, then. I take you to Arefu, and you take me to Galaxy News Radio."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "I thought the deal was you take me to Arefu in exchange for not reporting you to Moriarty."
Marcus gave her a coy smile. "Now you're lying. I don't think you like Moriarty any more than I do."
Lucy tried to maintain her composure, but it was no use. He was right: she hated Moriarty as much as everyone else in this town. Marcus stood up, he took her silence as a yes. "It's settled then. First to Arefu, then to GNR."
Lucy nodded. "When do you want to leave?"
Marcus glanced at the front door. "Well, I left a little calling card at Moriarty's, so if I don't leave before dawn I never will."
Lucy understood. "Okay. Just give me a couple of minutes to pack."
Marcus took the time to check the supplies in his backpack. He still had most of the stimpaks, first-aid kit, food and water that he took from the Vault. He had nine rounds of 10mm in his pistol, and another full magazine with fifteen rounds. He checked the .38 pistol and loaded six of his twelve rounds in it.
Lucy came down the stairs holding her own backpack. She went to the refrigerator and began filling it with food and bottles of purified water. She handed two bottles to Marcus, who placed them in his bag. Lucy filled an army can tin with water from her sink and hooked it onto her belt. "What kind of guns do you carry?"
"A 10mm and a .38."
Lucy began looking through a box on a book case. "You're in luck; I have a full magazine with 10mm rounds."
She tossed the magazine to the Marcus, who was ecstatic to have another fifteen rounds of ammo. "Won't you be needing them?"
"Nah, I have this." She reached inside the box and pulled out a sawed-off shot gun and a box with twenty rounds of 12 gauge. "Are you any good with a gun?"
Marcus took a moment before answering. "I fired a few shots."
It was just after 4:00am when Marcus and Lucy headed out. As they began walking towards Megaton's main entrance, Marcus heard something and stopped. "Wait!" He whispered. "Did you hear that?"
Lucy stopped and listened. It was faint, but she could hear it. "Yes. Where's it coming from?"
Marcus leaned over the catwalk and strained to hear it again. "Down there, towards the….bomb!"
Lucy also leaned over the railing. The darkness was giving way to twilight, but she still could not see. "It could be the Children of Atom."
Marcus looked over at her. "Who are they?"
"A cult that worships the bomb like a god. They believe it created this new world and that 'we should embrace his power and glory'."
Marcus cringed as she recited the cult's proclamation. The thought of anyone worshipping a weapon that killed billions of people was, to him, beyond crazy. "Do they worship this late at night?"
Lucy shook her head. "Not usually."
Now Marcus really wanted to investigate this. "Wait here." He quickly made his way down the catwalk towards the center of the crater. As he approached the noise was getting louder and more distinctive: it sounded like someone working with tools. As he got closer, he could see a man dressed in a rather expensive suit and hat, closing a panel on the bomb. Something was definitely wrong. Just as the man turned around, Marcus pounced!
He slammed the man up against the bomb and held him by his shirt collar. When the stranger reached for his pistol Marcus head butted him, breaking the man's nose and causing him to drop the gun.
"What were you doing to the bomb?" Marcus yelled.
The man winced in agony as blood ran down his chin. "Let me go you little runt…."
But Marcus would not let go. By now Lucy had made it down the catwalk. "What happened?"
"He was doing something to the bomb!"
The man, who Marcus recognized as the same one sitting in Moriarty's saloon, suddenly calmed down and changed his composure. "Nonsense! Now why would I do something like that?"
"What's going on here?"
Marcus turned and saw Lucas Simms arrive, holding his AK-47.
"I caught this guy messing with the bomb, sheriff."
The man laughed. "Sheriff this is all a big misunderstanding. Please tell this young man to let me go, so that I may go on my way."
Marcus shoved him back up against the bomb. "You seem to be in a hurry to leave! Why is that, Mr…?"
"Burke," the man said, "and I have a prior engagement, that's all."
"You do seem pretty nervous, Burke." Simms observed.
By now more people in Megaton were waking up and coming out of their homes. Marcus tossed Burke aside and threw the panel open. The glowing red timer counting down from two minutes was all he needed to see. "He's rigged the bomb to explode! We have less than two minutes!"
Screams and gasps erupted from the crowd. Burke tried to run, but Simms hit him in the gut with the butt of his rifle. Marcus grabbed Burke off the ground. "Shut it down, now!"
Burked coughed as he tried to speak. "It's too late! We have to get out of here…."
"You're not going anywhere! Sheriff," he through Burke over to Simms, "hold him. Everyone else get out of here!"
Pandemonium erupted. By now everyone in town was awake and started to panic. Many made a dash for the main entrance, while others saw the futility of it and simply dropped to their knees and started sobbing.
Marcus inserted his Pipboy's plug-in into the device's USB port, and frantically began pushing on the touch screen. Lucas Simms dragged Burke over to him. "Do you know what you're doing, kid?"
Marcus let out a nervous chuckle. "I've a…hacked into computers," he stopped to wipe sweat off his brow, "never bombs." He looked at the timer: one minute to go. A moment later, he was in. "The abort sequence is password activated."
Simms grabbed Burke and practically hoisted him off the ground by his shirt. "What's the password?"
Burke was beginning to panic. "I….I can't…."
Marcus screamed. "Thirty seconds, Burke, and we're all dead!"
Burke stared at the timer: 29, 28, 27….
"Alright, alright! Tenpenny, Tenpenny! One word!"
Marcus punched in the password, and the timer stopped at nineteen.
Everyone who was standing around the bomb was silent. All that could be heard was their heavy breathing and hearts as they pounded in their chest. Marcus, who felt like he was going to throw up, leaned against the bomb. It was then he realized that he was covered in sweat. Lucas, who was still restraining Burke, conveyed the news to the rest of Megaton. "It's okay, people, he did it! He disarmed the bomb!"
Cheers rang out throughout the town, and soon Marcus was being mobbed by the residents. Just a few feet away, Lucy West had not moved. She had been frozen in place the entire time, unable to move as she watched Marcus disarm the bomb and save all of their lives. As she watched Marcus being thanked and slapped on the back by the people of Megaton, the shock and fear she felt gave way to another feeling: the kind a woman could only have for a man.
Marcus was still caught up in the thralls of celebration when he noticed Colin Moriarty, staring down at him from the catwalk, flanked by his two thugs. A knot formed in Marcus' stomach. He knew Moriarty had discovered what he had done, and he slowly placed his hand on his pistol. Marcus and Moriarty continued to stare at each other, and Marcus prepared himself for the fight that was sure to come.
Only it didn't. Neither Moriarty nor his thugs made a move, and Marcus realized that stopping the bomb from going off made him the town hero. And since he had deleted all of his files, Moriarty did not have the leverage over the people of Megaton he had just a few hours ago. Marcus gave Moriarty a cocky smile and turned his back on him. Up on the catwalk, Colin Moriarty glared at the 101 emblazed on his back.
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Written by coastierks.
Category:Rise of the Lone Wanderer
Category:Fallout