Chapter 9: It's Good to Have Friends

For the third time this morning Marcus was staring at the scares Crimson had left on his face through the truck's rear-view mirror. In the 18 hours since he and Clover escaped from Paradise Falls, Marcus had completely healed from his ordeal. But Crimson's fingernails dug deep into the right side of his face, and though faded, the scars remained.

"Stop worrin' about it, suga." Clover said as she carefully navigated their battle truck through the blasted out streets of downtown D.C. "Most girls like scars on a man. I know I do."

Marcus grinned and shifted his gaze at the former slave girl. "Does that explain last night - and this morning?"

Clover only responded with a smile and a wink. Marcus sat back and a sigh escaped him as he thought about that night. As soon as they were far enough away from Paradise Falls, Clover had made her move. Up until that point Marcus had only been with one woman, Amata, and although they had only been sleeping together for two years, Marcus considered himself to be experianced in the art of love making. Clover, on the other hand, had shown him that he still had a lot to learn. The former slave girl did things to him that would make Amata, and most women he surmised, blush. The experiance left him drained, satisfied - and hungry for more. Still, Clovers "skills" were not the only difference he noticed. Something was missing from their love making, and it didn't take Marcus long to figure out what it was. He called it love making, but what he and Clover were doing was fucking, and while he was growing very fond of Clover, he couldn't see himself feeling anything close to what he felt for Amata. He also guessed she would never feel that way about him. Rather their relationship was based on a mutual need; a need to feel wanted, free and sane in an insane word - if only for a few moments.

Clover broke the silence by turning on the trucks radio and tuning it to GNR. "Gooood morning Capital Wasteland! It is I, Three Dog, your lord and master! Hear me and obey! Oh, sorry that's that other radio station. News time children. Well, he's done it again folks. The kid from Vault 101, that crazy sonofabitch has done the impossible again!

Marcus sat straight up in his seat. "He's talking about me!"

Clover shushed him and turned the radio up. "Now you all remember last night I told you about reports of gunfire and explosions coming from the slavers haven of Paridise Falls, right? Well a small group of runaway slaves are reporting that the kid from Vault 101 found himself in the clutches of that maniac Eulogy Jones. Now the details are sketchy, but it seems that our 'Lone Wanderer' not only escaped from his bondage, but he took down Eulogy and every slaver in the compound. He was seen leaving Paradise Falls with a female - companion in tow. Hey Wanderer, where ever you are, thanks for fightin' the good fight. Until next time, this is Three Dog, awwwww, and your listening to Galaxy News Radio! Bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts. Now, some music. Jon Bon Jovi is wanted, dead or alive!"

Marcus turned the radio off. "Wow. 'The Lone Wanderer", hu?"

Clover responded by rolling her eyes. "He made it sound like you took Eulogy down by yourself."

"He mentioned you...sort of."

"Oh yeah, right! Your female companion. Is that all I am?"

Marcus moved closer and put his arm around her. "Relax. You and I know what you did, and so do those slaves. When we see Three Dog, I'll set the record straight."

Clover turned and gave him a playfull smile. "You'd better."

They kissed and Clover continued to drive the truck through the ruins. Marcus noticed that the deeper they went into the city, the more difficult it was becoming to navigate around the debrie. He knew they eventually would have to hide the truck and continue on foot; something he was not looking foward to since their first encounter with two super mutants. The creatures were just like how Clover had described them: large, humanoid type creatures with green skin. In many ways they reminded Marcus of a character in one of his comic books called The Hulk, but unlike David Banner, these creatures were not the good guys. Clover explained that people believed the super mutants were once men, but no one knew where they came from.

He and Clover had rolled up on a small camp near a group of abandoned army trucks. As soon as the mutants spotted them they let out a battle cry and charged. One was armed with a hunting rifle, and the other had only a large club with spikes on the end of it. Marcus climbed through the truck's back window and manned the .50 caliber machine gun. Two quick burst later, the super mutants were shredded by the powerful shells. When he and Clover searched the camp they found a young female wastelander tied up and crying in a tent. Marcus cut her loss, and after thanking them up and down, she offered to give them what meger supplies she had. Marcus was quick to refuse, and the woman was even more surprised by the generosity. She thanked them again and ran off towards the Potomic River. When Clover bluntly asked why he didn't take them, Marcus explained that they had more than enough, and she would need them more then they would.

As Marcus was thinking of ways to hide their truck, the sound of gunfire was heard up ahead. Clover stopped the truck and she removed a pair of binoculars from the glove compartment. She could see the entrance to the Chevy Chase Metro tunnels, and a small camp just to the right of it. The twenty raiders were shooting at a lone wastelander pinned down behind a pile of rubble on the other side of the street.

"Looks like raiders got some poor bastard trapped by the metro." Clover said.

Marcus took the binoculars. He could see that the wastelander was wearing a brown utility jacket and a large back pack. Armed with a combat shotgun, the wastelander was trying his best to hold off the advancing raiders. Marcus continued too watch the gun battle, and he soon realized the wastelander was a ghoul - a ghoul he recognized.

"Quinn!"

Clover looked at him. "Who?"

Marcus threw the binoculars on the seat. "I know that ghoul!" He climbed through the truck's back window. "Drive!"

Clover was shocked. "What?"

"Drive straight for the raider and put this truck between them and Quinn." Marcus quickly locked and loaded the .50 cal. Clover stared straight ahead at he heavly armed raiders. "And people think I'm crazy." she mumbled. She put the truck in gear. "Hang on!"

The gunfire from the raiders was so intense that all Quinn could do was point his gun over the rubble and fire blindly; hoping for a luckly hit. The raiders were so close to his position that he could hear them taunting him, and he was running out of ammo. "Never thought I'd go out like this." he said to himself.

The roar of an engine and the sound of machine gun fire got his attention. Quinn peeked around his cover - and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The raiders caught out in the open were torn to pieces as Marcus layed down a steady stream of heavy machine gun fire. Clover managed to mow down the two still standing in the middle of the road. "OOPS!" she playfully yelled as the raiders bounced off the truck like bugs. As instructed she stopped the truck between Quinn and the camp, shielding him from the gunfire. Marcus turned the .50 on the camp, where the last of the raiders were scrambling to take cover. The .50 caliber rounds easily penetrated the plywood and rusted metal they were using as cover, and Marcus began picking them off. The raiders, however, had no intention of going down without a fight. Several rounds hit the truck, and Marcus heard more than one whizz by his head. He spotted a raider shouldering a rocket launcher and Marcus fired a burst, hitting the raider in the chest. The rocket went wide and struck the remains of a building on the other side of the street.

With the last raider dead, everything became eerily quiet. Marcus took a deep breath and leaned against the now empty .50 cal. 'How many more people am I going to have to kill?' he thought.

"Hey kid!" a gravely voice called to him. Marcus turned and saw Quinn walking toward him. "Damn, you sure know how to make an entrance."

Marcus jumped down from the truck. As he clasped Quinn's hand, he noticed the field dressing on the ghoul's right arm. "Are you alright?"

Quinn just shrugged. "I've had worse. Thanks for the save, kid. I owe you one."

Marcus shook his head and grinned. "We're even."

Clover stepped down from the truck's cab and practically jumped into Marcus' arms. "Wahoooo! We rock, baby!"

She pressed her lips to his, and Marcus returned the favor; all the while being observed by Quinn. "Wow. You've been busy."

Marcus shot a glance at the collar around Clover's neck and began to blush. "It's not what you think. I..."

Clover shot him an annoyed look, and he quickly corrected himself. "...we, broke out of Paradise Falls yesterday."

The ghoul reached into his back pack. "I heard; and so did a few other people." He handed a folded piece of paper to Marcus.

"What's this?"

"They're going up all over the Capital Wasteland. There's a bounty on your head, kid. I big one."

Marcus unfolded the paper - and his jaw dropped. "'3,000 caps for Marcus Lincoln - dead or alive!'"

Clover whisled. "3,000 caps, hu? Maybe I should turn you in myself."

Marcus looked at her and for a moment, he couldn't tell if she was kidding. "Well you might want to reconsider; there's a bounty on your head too."

Clover ripped the notice out of his hand. "Let me see that. '500 caps for the slave girl known as Clover'! A 500 cap bounty on me?!"

Marcus placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know, I'm sorry."

Clover crumpled the paper and threw it on the ground. "500 caps! Is that all they think I'm worth?"

Marcus and Quinn looked at each other and just shook their heads. "Well don't worry sweetheart," Marcus said, "I'm sure you'll raise that number."

"Damn right, suga. By next week it'll be up to a thousand."

Clover gave Marcus a kiss and ran towards the raider camp to begin scavenging.

"So where ya headed?" Quinn asked.

"Galaxy News Radio."

"Really? Well it just so happens that's on the way to Underworld. You mind if I tag along - or is three a crowd?"

Marcus shook his head. "Not at all; the more the marrier. I just have to figure out what to do with this truck and all this gear. We can't carry it all and I'd hate to lose it..."

At that very moment the answer seemed to appear to him: the rocket that hit the building had blown a hole in th rubble. Marcus and Quinn investigated the openning, and they discovered it led to an old parking garage. Most of it had caved in, but there was still more than enough room to park a truck. Marcus grinned. "This is perfect."

They returned to the outside, and Clover was just starting to load the gear she had scavenged into the truck.

"Clover!" Marcus yelled. "Do you think you could drive the truck through this hole?"

Clover looked the openning over and smiled. "Of course, lover. You know I'm good at squeezing big things into tight spaces."

She jumped into the truck and started the engine. Marcus was blushing as he could feel Quinn's gaze on him. "Is she good at that, kid?"

Marcus gave the ghoul a sideways glance. "Shut up, Quinn."

Quinn just chuckled.

It was a tight squeeze, but Clover managed to manuver the truck through the openning and into the parking garage. Both she and Marcus loaded up as much as they could carry and left the rest in the truck. With Quinn's help, they were able to place enough rubble in front of the openning to conceal it. To make sure they would remember where it was, Quinn used some red paint he had scavenged and painted the letters "LW" on the rubble.

Confident that their bounty was well hidden, the three travelers prepared themselves to enter the metro. Clover and Quinn told Marcus about the feral ghouls they would not doubt encounter; crazed creatures that attacked a human on sight. Each member of the group was armed to the teeth. Marcus had his AK-47, Eulogy's .44 revolver, Lucy's sawed-off shotgun strapped to his right thigh, the 40mm grenade launcher and a combat knife. Clover too, carried an AK-47, her chinese sword, five grenades and a .308 sniper rifle. Quinn of course had his combat shotgun, and Marcus gave him one-hundred rounds of 12 gauge.

Quinn led the way into the metro since he had traveled it many times before. The tunnels were even creeper than Marcus could've imagined. They smelled like death and were completely dark. The only light came from thier flashlites, and they were barely enough. Many of the tunnels had collapsed or were being blocked by abandoned train cars. They encountered two ferals not long after entering the metro. The scream they let out shook Marcus to his core, and he fired more rounds then he needed to put them down. They proceeded further in, and encountered a few more ferals which they easily took care of. But about halfway through the metro, they encountered a super mutant standing at the top of one of the tunnels.

Marcus peeked around the corner and saw that the mutant hadn't spotted them yet. "Clover, hand me your sniper rifle."

Clover unclipped the rifle off her back pack. "No problem, suga."

Marcus placed the cross hairs on the head of the mutant and activated his VATS. One shot was all it took, and the super mutant fell backwards dead. Marcus handed the rifle back to Clover and had just stepped out into the open when two more super mutants appeared at the top of the tunnel.

"Found you!" one of them yelled. Both mutants openned fire with hunting rifles and Marcus hit the deck. He and Quinn returned fire, scoring hits on both mutants. Clover pulled the pin on a grenade, counted to three, then threw it with all she had. The grenade landed between the mutants, finishing them off. When they were certain there were no more mutants, the three travelers continued on until they finally reached the exit leading to Chevy Chase North.

When they emerged from the metro, the sun was just beginning to set. Quinn pointed to his left. "GNR is that way."

Marcus nodded and he and Clover followed him. They had walked only a few yards when three heavly armed super mutants seemed to appear out of no where up ahead.

"Hurry up and die! I'm hungry!" One of them screamed as the trio charged straight at them. Marcus raised his AK and was about to fire when the super mutants were cut down by beams of red lights coming from the left side.

"What the hell?" Quinn asked.

Marcus carefully took a few steps forward and as he came around some rubble, he spotted a group of six men wearing what looked like suits of armor. They were armed with a variety of weapons, including laser rifles, assault rifles - one was even armed with a minigun. The group parted and a seventh armored soldier ran towards him. Unlike the other's, this soldier wore no helmet, revealing a beautiful blonde woman. Marcus stood there dumbfounded as she addressed him. "I don't know who you are but you don't belong here. The super mutants have overrun our brothers at the Galaxy News Radio building and we're heading there to back them up."

Marcus snapped himself out of his trance and responded. "Wow, thanks for the assist. What's your name?"

"Assist? First of all, wastelander, we saved your ass. Second, I'm Sarah Lyons: Sentinal of the Brotherhood of Steel and leader of the Lyons' Pride. We keep the Super Mutants from overrunning D.C."

Her answer only gave Marcus more questions, but he decided they could wait. "Well we're heading for Galaxy News Radio ourselves, mind if we tag along?"

Sarah was quick to answer. "I don't think so. The last thing we need is for a civilian, his ghoul and slave girl getting in the way."

Marcus looked over at his group, and he could see the anger on their faces. "Lyons, is it? This ghoul saved my life, and when's the last time you saw a slave armed to the teeth?"

Sarah looked them over and sighed. "Look, just don't do anything...stupid."

Without saying another word she turned and rejoined her men. Clover let out a grunt. "Bitch!" she whispered.

"Now now, Clover that bitch did save our lives." Marcus said.

Clover just rolled her eyes. She saw the way that Marcus was staring at her - and she didn't like it. They followed the soldiers down an alley, and they could hear the sound of gunfire getting closer.

"So Quinn," Marcus began, "who are these guys?"

"The Brotherhood? They arrived here from California about twenty years ago. At first they were looking for old world tech, but soon they began clearing out the super mutants from the D.C. area. They act all 'high and mighty' sometimes, but overall they're good people."

They rounded a corner and up ahead they spotted two more soldiers and a third lying on a stretcher. Marcus was wondering if the soldier was still alive, until he saw another reach down with his hand and close his eyes. Lyons was the first to join them. "Jennings?"

One of the soldiers shook his head. "He didn't make it."

Lyons looked down at the ground. "Damn! Alright, what's our status, Vargas?"

"Five more muties released from their torment."

"Damn right they are!" a female soldier chimed in.

"Cut the chatter Redding and listen up!" Vargas said.

"Yes sir.!"

Vargas continued. "Target building is just up ahead."

Lyons nodded. "Good."

Vargas looked over at Marcus. "New recruit?"

Lyons glanced in his direction. "Just a stray. Listen up! GNR plaza is on the other side of this building so we're going right through it. Redding, you stay with Vargas and do exactly what he tells you."

"Yes, Sentinal!"

Lyons continued to address the group. "Hit'em hard and fast, pride!"

"OOORAH!" The soldiers yelled.

With Lyons leading the way, the soldiers charged down the alleyway with Marcus, Quinn and Clover following. Just up ahead, Marcus could see a three story building with the name "Early Dawn Elementary" writen above the front door. Two super mutants standing inside a small playground were cut down by the Brotherhood soldier wielding the minigun. But then three laser beams struck the soldier at the same time; penetrating his armor and turning his body to ash. Marcus and his companions took cover, and he observed the largest super mutant he had ever seen in the second story window, firing a tri-beam laser rifle. Marcus fired a burst with his AK, hitting the mutant square in the chest, but it only seemed to anger it.

"What the hell is that thing?" Marcus yelled.

"A super mutant Overlord!" Quinn responded as he reloaded his shotgun. "Toughest sonofabitch there is and nearly impossible to kill."

Marcus put down his rifle and took his grenade launcher out of his pack. "Let's see how he does against this." With his VATS activated, Marcus took aim at the Overlord's chest and fired two grenades; blowing the top part of the creature to pieces.

For a moment even Sarah Lyons was surprised, and Marcus caught her staring at him. He responded with a wink, and he charged into the building. Sarah let out an annoyed sigh and followed close behind him. Marcus made his way down a hallway and was about to round the corner, when Sarah Lyons yanked him back.

"The hell...!"

Marcus was silenced as a hail of gunfire slammed into the spot where he would've been.

"Clear the corners, rookie!" Lyons said.

Marcus swallowed hard as he realized what almost happened. "Thanks."

Lyons turned to her squad. "Redding! Plasma grenade!"

Redding handed Lyons the grenade and stood back. Lyons tossed it around the corner. "Fire in the hole!"

Marcus could hear a super mutant yell: "Run away!", followed by a loud explosion and bright green light.

"Go!" Lyons ordered.

When they rounded the corner, Marcus stopped at the sight of two piles of green goo that were once super mutants. "Whoa." he gasped.

They made it through the school and down to the bottom level. A large hole in the wall led outside to the Galaxy News Plaza. Inside the center of the plaza, Marcus could see a stone water fountain. To his left was the GNR building, and ten Brotherhood of Steel soldiers were trying to hold off over two dozen super mutants. Lyons was on one side of the openning, Marcus was on the other. From their position, they were directly behind the mutants; who had no idea they were about to be ambushed.

"Hey wastelander," Lyons called to Marcus, "you want to introduce them to your little friend?"

Marcus realized that she was talking about his grenade launcher and grinned. "I think I can arrange that." He took aim and fired three grenades, killing or wounding seven mutants. The group charged into the plaza, shooting and screaming at the top of their lungs. Clover and Quinn each took down a mutant, while Marcus took down a super mutant Brute (though it took an entire magazine to do it.) He was reloading his AK when he spotted Lyons, blasting a super mutant Master with her laser rifle. As the Master fell down dead, another mutant struck her left side with a nail board. The blow knocked Lyons against the stone fountain, causing her to loose her rifle. The super mutant charged again.

"Lyons!" Marcus screamed as he slapped the magazine in his AK.

Before the super mutant could deliver the final blow, Lyons shoved a ripper into the creature's gut, and sliced him up to his chest. She pushed herself off the fountain, drew a laser pistol, and took down another charging mutant. A third mutant, armed with a sledge hammer, was about to attack her from behind when a shotgun blast to it's face killed it instantly. Lyons spun around and saw Marcus, holding a sawed-off shotgun. For a moment their eyes met, and Marcus gave her a nod.

"Lookout!" she yelled.

Marcus turned and fired his sawed-off into the chest of another mutant at point blank range.

Marcus and Lyons were back-to-back in the middle of the plaza. She was firing away with her laser pistol, while Marcus took down two more mutants with his .44 revolver. A Master charged at him, and Marcus heard the heart stopping click as his gun went empty. "Shit!" he yelled as he dropped the gun and pulled the combat knife form his vest. The Master was almost on him when Clover slammed her sword into it's right side. The Master cried out in pain and with one swing of it's massive arm, knocked Clover across the plaza.

An enraged Marcus leaped onto the mutant's back and repeatedly stabbed him in the throat. "DIE YOU FUCKER, DIE!"

The Master fell face down dead, and an exhausted Marcus rolled off the body and onto his back. The sounds of battle had gone, and were replaced with the cheering of soldiers. Marcus just layed there, trying to catch his breath. A shadow suddenly fell on him, and Sarah Lyons was standing over him with an extended hand. "I guess I should thank you."

Marcus took her hand and stood up.

"You're pretty good - for a wastelander."

Marcus looked at the carnage in the plaza. "Thanks. You guys don't screw around!"

Just a hint of a smile appeared on the Sentinal's face. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Marcus heard a groan to his right, and he spotted Clover lying on the ground with Quinn kneeling beside her. "Clover!" He took off running, leaving Sarah Lyons in the middle of the plaza. When he reached her, Quinn was injecting her torso with a stimpak. "I think she broke a couple of ribs."

Marcus gently placed his hand on her cheek and wiped away a tear. "You saved my life...again."

Clover let out a small chuckle despite the pain. "That's two you owe me, lover."

Marcus smiled and gently kissed her on the lips. Clover was a tough one, no doubt about that. He turned and saw Sarah Lyons staring at him. She quickly looked away and called the BOS medic over. "Take her inside as soon as the area's secure."

The medic saluted and began treating Clover's wounds. Marcus walked back to where Lyons was standing. "Thank you."

He held out his hand, but Lyons was all business. "As soon as the area's secure, you can go talk to Three Dog. Our people will take care of your friend." With that, the Sentinal walked away.

Marcus stood there and wondered just what he had done wrong. Could she be jealous of him and Clover? As he gathered his weapons, Marcus shook that idea from his head. 'No way', he thought. No way a professional soldier like that would be jealous of a wastelander and a former slave girl. Could she? Marcus had to admit, when Lyons saw him kiss Clover he felt a hint of shame as if he'd been caught doing something wrong. He couldn't explain why he felt that way. He and Clover where consenting adults, so why should Sarah seeing them together make any difference?

When he finished gathering up his weapons, Marcus made his way over to Quinn and Clover when a loud roar caught their attention. They heard the roar a second time; louder and getting closer. Redding, the BOS' new recruit, ran towards wher the roar was coming from, and stopped by a pair of overturned buses. Quinn suddenly placed his arm underneath Clover and yanked her up, causing her to yell in pain.

"What the hell are you doing?" Marcus yelled.

"We gotta get out of her now!" Quinn responded as he forced Clover to her feet. "It's a super mutant Behemouth!"

They heard the roar for a third time, and whatever was causing it seemed to be right ontop of them. Vargas was screaming for Redding to get back, but the recruit only locked and loaded her assault rifle.

Marcus turned to Quinn. "What the hell is a Behemouth?"

The answer came in the form of a tremendous explosion which knocked all of them off thier feet. When Marcus' eyes had adjusted, he could see the area where Redding had been standing was obliterated. But what he saw walking through the smoke and reckage terrified him beyond belief. A three story tall super mutant, wielding a giant club with a fire hydrant on the end of it, advanced into the plaza. Lyons and the rest of the Brotherhood were already on thier feet. "Open fire!" she screamed.

A hail of bullets and laser fire peppered the behemouth. The creature responded with an earth shattering roar, and he brought his club down on two BOS soldiers, crushing them both.

"Get Clover out of here," Marcus yelled, "now!"

Quinn nodded and half dragged Clover back into the Dawn elementary building. Marcus ran across the plaza towards where the Brotherhood had taken cover, blasting away with his AK-47. The creature only seemed to be annoyed by the firing as it rampaged through the plaza. Marcus dove behind a pile of sandbags that Sarah Lyons was using as cover. "How the hell do we kill that thing?" he yelled over the sound of gunfire.

"We need to use the Fat Man over there!"

She pointed at the fountain, and Marcus could see a dead BOS soldier clutching what looked like a rather clumsy weapon. "A Fat Man! You mean like a nuke?"

Lyons fired another burst from her laser rifle. "You know of anything else that could take that thing down?"

Marcus watched in horror as the Behemouth grabed a screaming BOS soldier and bit him in half. He put down his rifle and took off his pack. "Cover me!"

Before Lyons could object, Marcus darted off towards teh middle of the plaza. Lyons gritted her teeth. "Covering fire!" she screamed.

Every BOS soldier left openned fire on the Behemouth, distracting him long enough for Marcus to reach the fountain. He grabed hold of the heavy weapon and looked it over. There appeared to be one bomb loaded into it, and a lever marked safe and fire was in the safe position. But as he was about to ready the weapon, the Behemouth's shadow fell on him. Marcus looked up and saw the creature raise the massive club over his head. Marcus ran and leapted with all his might, just as the club came crashing down ontop of the fountain; shattering it to pieces. The Behemouth saw Marcus on the ground, and as the creature moved in for the kill, Quinn appeared in the third floor window of the school blasting away with his combat shotgun. "Come on you ugly bastard!" the ghoul screamed.

The Behemouth roared and turned his attention to Quinn, who jumped down to the second floor just as the creature's massive hand punched through the wall. Quinn's distraction gave Marcus the seconds he needed to ready the Fat Man, and he stood up with the weapon slung on his shoulder. "Hey ugly!" he yelled.

The Behemouth turned and face him.

"Say aaaaaa, motherfucker!"

The creature roared and raised his club. Marcus activated his VATS and aimed for the creature's open mouth. He fired and the Fat Man sailed in a perfect arch right into it's gaping mouth. The Behemouth stopped suddenly and grabbed his throat, trying to swallow the large bomb. Just as it had succeeded, the top part of the Behemouth was blow apart in a tremendous explosion. Blood, guts and gore rained down on everyone in the plaza, but Marcus got the brunt of it. Any sense of victory he had disappeared as he tried not to be sick. The BOS soldiers, on the other hand were estatic dispite being covered in super mutant. All of them ran up to Marcus, and after a few rather hard slaps on the back, Sarah Lyons approached him. "Now I am impressed."

Marcus handed the Fat Man to her, but Lyons shook her head. "Keep it; you earned it."

Marcus looked down at the weapon. He wasn't sure if he wanted to lug this thing around the wasteland, but it did have one hell of a punch. "Thanks. I'm...sorry about Redding."

Lyons hardened her jaw. "She died well. In the end, that's all that matters. So, what's your name, wastelander?"

"Marcus Lincoln."

The BOS soldiers became unusually quiet, and were staring at him as if he was a rock star. "That kid on the radio, from Vault 101!" one of the soldiers said.

Marcus began to blush; he didn't know if he would ever get used to this.

"Well, well, "Lyons said. ",the famous 'Lone Wanderer'. I guess you'll be wanting to see Three Dog, then." She addressed the soldiers. "Okay everyone back to work. Secure this area."

The soldiers headed off to their duties, leaving Marcus and Lyons. "Are you looking for recruits, Sentinal?"

Lyons looked him up and down, then gave him a slight grin. "I don't think so. Not sure if you're Brotherhood material."

She turned and began to walk away, leaving behind a confused Marcus. "I just took down a Behemouth."

Lyons stopped and shot him another grin. "There's more to being a Knight then just blowing shit up. See you around, Wanderer."

As she walked away, Marcus hoped it would be sooner rather than later.