Piper and I didn't stick around at Vault 81 for breakfast. Instead, as soon as we dragged ourselves out of bed, we headed for the surface and started making our way back towards Boston. In a vacuum, I would have liked to head back to Concord and brief Preston on the situation with Vault 81, but Nick was waiting for me and hopefully, in my absence, he'd acquired the search warrant we needed to break into Kellogg's house.

 

Since the route we'd taken from Diamond City to Vault 81 had proved mostly open, we decided to retrace our steps rather than attempting a different route. I think that mostly turned out to be the right choice. We ran into a hostile robot on the route, but it wasn't anything we could handle - and otherwise the way was clear. We'd seen some evidence of feral ghoul activity on the route, but I think the robot actually scared them off before it ran into us.

 

 

Things almost went really wrong at the last minute though. Literally as we were about to cross into the Diamond City outer security zone, we started taking fire. I almost charged in to return fire, but then I remembered I didn't have my bulletproof Vault Suit on, so instead I ended up diving behind cover. A whole squad of raiders was camped out near the entrance to Diamond City, and for some reason the guards hadn't closed the main gate yet. Instead, they were taking pot shots back and forth from cover at the raiders.

 

Piper and I advanced as agressively as we could without exposing ourselves to fire, and we created enough of a distraction that DC Security managed to rally and execute a counterattack. But the whole incident really scared me. What if there'd been more of the raiders? What if they'd gotten into Diamond City? This was an extremely bad sign about the security posture here, and all I could think of was Cedric Mansfield's prediction that Vault 111 would feel like we had to take over Hangman's Alley. Because that's what I was feeling right at that moment. 

 

 

As soon as we got inside, I stormed over to the guardhouse.

 

"Danny, what the fuck was going on out there? Why didn't you close the gate?"

 

Danny Sullivan, still cradling his rifle, looked back at me with tired eyes. "Not my call. Mayor's got a supply caravan coming in this afternoon, and he didn't want them getting stuck between an ambush and a closed gate."

 

 

"Danny," Piper said, incensed, "there's dead DC Security guys out there. When are you guys going to realize that McDonough's going to get you all killed someday. Hell, get all of us killed!"

 

The young security officer just shrugged. "Not my circus, not my pay grade. Even if I had an opinion, which for the record I don't, I'm not a guy who gets his opinion listened to."

 

"Too bad the Minutemen aren't around to back you up," I floated.

 

"Too bad for sure," Danny said, his face animated suddenly. "They got their start here, you know. It's a fucking tragedy that they're gone."

 

"I heard some rumors they're trying to reform up north. If they get back on their feet, would the Minutemen be welcome here?"

 

Danny shrugged. "Maybe. I'm sure they'd be welcome dropping by. But real cooperation would mean getting the mayor on board. And, well, pardon me miss, I read Piper's story and I know you're doing stuff up north. If you're in touch with the Minutemen, I'd say the best thing they can do right now is get the Castle back. That'll give them some real clout."

 

"The Castle?"

 

Danny gestured in an easterly direction. "Their old base, out on the waterfront. Walls even more solid than Diamond City. I heard it got taken over by Mirelurks, though. They'd have to really get back on their feet if they wanted to take it back."

 

"Well," I said, "if I do bump into the Minutemen, I'll make sure to plant that idea in their ear. Thanks, Danny. Stay safe."

 

"You too, old-timer."

 

We headed into Diamond City from there and met up with Nick in front of Kellogg's old house.

 

"Cute dress, kid. You get the answers you wanted in the vault?"

 

 

I groaned a little. "Not the answers I wanted, no. But I got the answers I needed. And what about you? How'd the search warrant go?"

 

"You would be amazed at how much the mayor's office cares about the pursuit of justice as soon as a few caps land on their desk. That's a trade secret, by the way, don't go blabbing it. Here," he said, offering a key to me, "you're the client, you do the honors."

 

Other than some accumulated dust, the inside of the house was in pretty good shape. Evidently the roof was intact and no damp seemed to have got in. Piper lit a lamp and we took in the structure. Kind of spartan, with just a simple up-and-down layout, not a lot of furniture, though I could see some personal effects here and there.

 

"Let's look around," Nick said, "he's gotta have left something."

 

 

We tossed the place, but didn't find much other than a clue to his favorite beer - Gwinnet Stout - and some money from out west that hinted at his origins. I was about ready to give up when something caught my eye. Crouching down, I discovered a button under Kellogg's desk. I poked at it experimentally and heard a loud crunch as something fell into place. A moment later, the false wall at the back of the house retracted and I found myself looking at a hidden room.

 

 

The room was still sparsely furnished, but it had a few creature comforts that'd been missing from the public side of the house. While Nick started to look over the shelves, I sat down in what I presume had been Kellogg's plush chair. From that vantage point, I considered the room and tried to get a feel for how Kellogg would have used it.

 

 

More beer, as well as cigars on his left. An ammo can on the right, and more of the same behind him, including a rather menacing looking stick of dynamite. I  wasn't quite sure if this was Kellogg's man-cave where he went to relax, or if it was his prep room where he got ready for his mercenary work. Maybe it was both. 

 

After a while I stood up and talked through what we found. "Gwinnet Stout, San Francisco Sunlights, 44 calibur bullets. A lot of stuff that says this was Kellogg's place, but not many clues about where he went."

 

"Got any ideas on what to do next?"

 

"Hmm... when I was interviewing you, you mentioned that you picked up a dog in your travels. A good mutt can track a man's scent for miles. Why don't you go fetch him and let him have a whiff?"

 

"To tell you the truth, I have to attend to some business back in Concord anyway. I think it's a good idea, but I might not be able to come right back to you."

 

"That's fine," Nick said, "I've got a few more leads I can try to run down - some sources who ran into him here and there that might be able to fill in the missing pieces. Just come knocking once you're back in town."

 

Piper was out in the front part of the house going through the contents of one of the desks, and I headed over to her after my chat with Nick. 

 

"You hear all that?"

 

 

"Yeah," she said, "so you're heading back up north?"

 

"That's the plan. I think this is the part where you decide if you're ready to go on a bit of an adventure."

 

She smirked at me. "Do you really have to ask? Give me a couple hours to fill Nat in on what I'm doing and to put together a proper travel bag, and I'll meet you at the entrance."

 

And that's what we did. When we hooked back up, Piper had a backpack thrown over her shoulder and a fresh pair of boots on her feet. 

 

"Alright, Blue, ready to show me where you live?"

 

"As long as you tell me you've got my Vault Suit in that backpack."

 

She smiled at that, "do you think I'd forget something like that? Lead the way."

 

As we headed northwest on Jersey Street, I heard an odd sizzling sound in the distance. Before I could investigate the source sooner, Piper whispered, "Blue, hold up." Then, when I didn't stop fast enough she shushed me loudly and tugged at my sleeve, pointing.

 

 

In the distance, I saw a group of... well, there was no doubt they were synths. Not quite the same as Nick, but similar enough that the family resemblance was impossible to miss.

 

"Synths," Piper whispered.

 

We ducked behind cover and watched them silently. For a time, it felt like one of them was watching our position, but then it turned and the whole patrol trudged down the road. Piper and I decided not to tempt fate, and we slipped into an alley that ran parallel to David Ortiz Drive. 

 

At the other end of the alley, Piper and I paused to take stock of our situation.

 

"Why didn't the attack us?" she asked, "I'm sure that one saw us."

 

"Maybe we were too close to DC?" I suggested.

 

"Maybe... but I don't like this. Synth squads aren't really well known for leaving witnesses around. We should get out of here."

 

We covered the rest of the distance to Storrow Drive first by sneaking and then by sprinting through an area that was packed tight with super mutant camps. The road was clear from that point, and once we reached Allston we followed the edge of the Cumnock Woods until we reached the Anderson Bridge and crossed into Cambridge. Now back on "my" side of the Charles, we followed the river until we reached rail line leading to Lexington. We sheltered for a moment in an abandoned garage to rest our feet, and I pointed to Piper's bag.

 

 

"OK, hand me my suit. And you, lose that jacket. We'll be in 111 country soon and you know the dress code."

 

She rummaged through her backpack and handed over my Vault Suit, which I started to slip into. Meanwhile, Piper started folding up her leather jacket.

 

"I thought outsiders were supposed to be naked," she said.

 

"They are," I confirmed, "but you convinced me that you need something to hang your gear on, so you get an exception - for now, at least."

 

I was pleased to discover that Becky Fallon had attached the extra material she added to my suit with small snap fasteners, so I was able to return it quickly to its original configuration. As much as I liked what she'd done with it, I didn't want to start the inevitable snowball of issues that would happen once custom Vault Suits started getting into circulation again.

 

Once I finished getting my own suit on, I took a moment to appreciate Piper's new look.

 

 

"I like it, Piper. I think you'll fit right in up at Concord."

 

"I don't know," she admitted, "I think this is still going to take some getting used to." 

 

"Don't worry, it's like riding a bike."

 

"Ha, that's a weird way to put it. You sure do manage to find your fair share of trouble, don't you?"

 

"It usually finds me," I corrected.

 

 

"Hey, I'm not one to judge," Piper said, "Honestly it's nice to just not be doing it alone for a change. In my line of work, things tend to get pretty hairy."

 

I winked at her, "like those cutoffs? Really makes me want to get my hands in them."

 

 

"Hey," she protested, "I'm trying to have a serious conversation here. I've been shot at, poisoned, nearly executed - oh, did you know that McDonough built a special cell that he calls 'the Piper suite?' And now I'm taking my clothes off to do a travel report. But anything for a story, right?"

 

"Who tried to poison you?!" 

 

"That would be the cartel up in Bunker Hill. They were playing funny games with the price of food deliveries to DC. I'd barely got the paper up and running, and they were my first big expose. The cartel... didn't like it. Article went over well, even got a boycott going, and I was feeling great - so I headed down to the Dugout for a victory drink."

 

"Didn't get the drink you expected?"

 

"I'd already taken a swig when I realized something wasn't wrong. Vadim - the normal bartender - wasn't anywhere to see, and the beer tasted... weird. I mean, even more than usual. And then the woozies started and I was like 'I'm either about to die, or I'm about to be kidnapped, at which point I'll die after they torture me'. So I knew I had to get it out, pronto."

 

"How'd you do it?" 

 

"I stumbled over the still and started chugging shine right from the spigot until the puking started. I'm not convinced it was better than just dying from the poison, but it worked."

 

"You've led an exciting life," I observed. 

 

"Sure have. But honestly, now that I'm out here with you, I feel like I'm just getting started. I... I guess what I mean is, I'm real happy to be along for the ride."

 

 

I smiled at what she said and answered, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

 

"All the better to watch each others' backs, right? So, you ready to get going?"

 

"Yeah, it's starting to get dark out anyway, but first come here, let me give you a kiss."

 

I drew her in and had a nice long makeup session before we grabbed our things and started working our way north.

 

 

We finally made it back to the Drumlin Diner just as the last light was fading from the sky. I talked our next steps over with Piper briefly - we could have made it to Concord before it got really dark - but we were both tired from the long trek, and in the end we decided to sleep at the Diner and continue our travel in the morning. That'd have the added advantage that I could introduce Piper to everyone while we were fresh and awake. 

 

"Well," I told her, pointing to the three flags of our community, "we made it. For now at least, this is the easternmost outpost of Concord."

 

"Feels good to be home, huh?" she asked.

 

"Yeah," I said, giving Piper a little side hug, "it sure does."