The Wild Wastelands | Moriarty's Saloon | Shifty's Room
Confessions from a pair of romantics - A Neurotic NPC Joint (Part 3)
Thomas looked up at his villainous visitor from where he was seated, taking a moment to spit out a gob of blood onto the floor, not that it would cause him to lose whatever deposit he had on the room. Practically every inch of the room had probably had some sort of biological material on it at some point in him. The Former Undertaker nodded after a moment and stood back up, taking his seat once again, his hands laying flat on the table as he eyed the plasma pistol.
"Believe me, I understand the feeling. Sylphee packs quite the punch for someone in her weight class." The Former Undertaker quipped, acknowledging that he knew of Jonathan's prior assault by the Red Menace. Having relieved his building anger through his earlier outburst, he appeared quite a deal calmer, more relaxed. He even smiled when he spoke of Sylphee. Perhaps it was Jonathan's turn to be unnerved by the sudden mood shift that the Undertaker displayed.
"We were speaking of Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411. As I stated previously, yes, I am aware of her so far as she tortured me, interrogated me and placed me into a frozen stasis." Thomas said bitterly, "And I went through all of that willingly to cover for Lucy as a member of the Enclave Asset Program. After a while, I don't know whether it was months or years, she released me under the orders of one of their top Agents, FalloutJack. #411 didn't fail to use the opportunity to slide yet another knife into my gut. She told me that Lucy was dead and I was responsible."
There was a sadness in Thomas' voice as he reached forward for his glass and poured himself a drink. The Undertaker seemed to consider the drink for a moment before pushing it forward, untouched by his lips. He regarded the man with the Plasma Pistol.
"Why the interest in my past? What's it matter to you?"
Sylphee. Jonathan would remember that name. McGee also confirmed what he had suspected, that this Sylphee was his companion, though he was a bit bewildered by his remark about her punching power. Was this Sylphee prone to these violent outbursts?
Not important right now. What was important was that things were finally starting to fall into place. This FalloutJack Charlotte was head over heels for has released Lucy and Shifty both. Jonathan entertained the possibility that Jack had ulterior motives about that, but he knew too little to draw conclusions. Whatever the case, Charlotte had planned to use Thomas' release as an opportunity.
She was smart, that *****.
Jonathan holstered the pistol as a sign of goodwill and got up, dragging the chair along closer to the table and sit down once again. It was as though Thomas' outburst had never happened. Sighing, he grabbed his glass from the ground, and motioned for Shifty to pour. Things were about to get heavy.
"Frankly, it has little to do with the events of the day, though you did shed some light into the situation," he sighed again, "I wanted to know more about the man I was left to die for."
The Former Undertaker lifted an eyebrow in the direction of the man known as Jonathan Aristotle McKenna, again someone who could have been a serial killer by virtue of his three names. The rude visitor was acting more than a little over dramatic in regards to the Sylphee-sault. He'd seen Sylphee kill before and what she'd done to Jonathan was in no way shape or form close to her killing him. He had the feeling that laughing about in Jonathan's face was a bad idea.
Thomas poured Jonathan a drink, leaving his untouched. He wanted to be sober, needed to be sober. Though he appreciated the gesture of the man holstering his pistol, Thomas didn't want to get punched in the face again.
"So. Have I satisfied your curiosity?" The Friendly Former Undertaker asked, "Surely there's little more of me that you need to know of me because there are several items that I'd like to talk to you about. Primarily, what's your relation to Miss Black?"
Was that a hint of jealousy in the Undertaker's voice? Was there even... a hint of fear?
"My relationship with Black is... multifaceted." Jonathan stated, "I knew her father. He saved my life when I started out in the wastes. Traveled a bit with him until I got my bearings. Great man, that Isaac. Can hardly believe he is actually dead."
"But... that's not all." he let out a heavy sigh, staring at his filled glass, "For, you see... I am the cause of the majority of her suffering." swallowing the entirety of his glass' contents, Jonathan wiped his mouth and pointed at the bed.
"That laser pistol. I noticed how you tried to get the energy cell out of it, but couldn't. Quite curious, yes? What use is a gun if it becomes useless after a clip of ammo? That one's... different. In three ways." He raised a finger, One, "The energy cell cannot be replaced, the pistol being built around it, rather than the opposite." Two, "The energy cell is unique. It gives the pistol better firing power than even the most overcharged energy cells. Furthermore, no matter how many times it recharges, it will never break." Three, "Lastly, the gun is fitted with an internal recharger, which basically means that you'll never run out of ammo as long as you give the weapon time to recharge. Each shot taking around 20 minutes to recharge."
He gave off a bitter frown, "I am ex-Enclave. Was born into it, hadn't much of a choice until Raven Rock blew up. That's what I did, back then. Weapons designer and general scientist. I created weapons like that pistol. That pistol... and Gauss Rifle Plus."
"Huh"
"I see you are familiar with it. Then you must also be aware of all the suffering that damned creation of mine brought Lucy." Jonathan sighed, and motioned for a refill.
Thomas obligingly refilled the glass, placing the bottle back on the table. It appeared that the alcohol was having the desired effect, namely loosening Jonathan's tongue. The fact that Jonathan was Ex-Enclave surprised him, a little. In a way, Jonathan and Shifty were more alike than they were not. They were both ex-members of organizations that didn't necessarily accept resignations barring their unfortunate and untimely passing. They both had the appearance of wanting to assist Lucy, though for different reasons. Where Thomas wanted to help Lucy due to a sense of affection, Jonathan wanted to assist Lucy to atone for whatever suffering his creation had caused her.
The Serious Former Undertaker nodded. He was quite familiar with the suffering the rifle had caused her. It had been one of the reasons that her father had been murdered by FalloutBob. It had been one of the reasons that the Enclave had taken such an interest in Lucy at all. However, it had saved her life more than a number of times... and for that, Thomas "Shifty" McGee was thankful.
"You're aware that despite the suffering your invention may have caused Lucy, it's saved her on a number of occasions. For that, I feel that despite your former affiliation with the Enclave, I should thank you. Were it not for your invention, perhaps she might not be alive today and perhaps I might not have ever had the opportunity of meeting her. It's a selfish thought, I know, but when it comes to the way I feel about her, I cannot help but be a bit selfish." Thomas blinked for a moment, surprised by both the boldness of his words and the ease at which he had admitted them to a total stranger, "I'm sure you understand this... feeling."
Again, another probe sent out to see if this Jonathan McKenna was a rival suitor in the game for Lucy's heart.
"I am not going to debate morality here. I already did that with Lucy." Jonathan said bluntly ignoring McGee's question, eager to move on. He remembered his outburst and how carelessly he spoke. If he didn't have that break down, Lucy wouldn't have kicked him and Kristin out of the house, and things could have been very different.
"No, I think it's time we spoke of what happened," he took a sip, "I arrived at Lucy's house during the morning, destitute. I recently left DC, and had a rough couple of days, so I figured I'd visit Isaac, maybe he'd help me again." he gave off a bitter chuckle, "Was I in for a surprise. Not only did I find out that Isaac was dead, but of everything Lucy went through." another sip followed, "I couldn't stomach it. I spit my guts out, told her of my past, of my involvement with the Enclave. Rather than kick me out, she instead stood up to me." he let out a chuckle this one filled with fondness and amazement, "Not what you would call your standard bonding moment, but... well, she was very accommodating" he recalled the clothes, and the rifle, and of course, the note she left him, stating how her father taught her to take care of others.
"...Very accommodating indeed..." he echoed ominously, also remembering of what happened next and fell silent, trying to build up the courage to go on. The drink helped, in that regard.
There was a sharp stabbing sensation in Thomas' chest as he heard Jonathan's words. The sensation brought back the desire to rip the man's face off, though he took it out on the liquor that had previously been untouched. Taking the glass into his hand, the Former Undertaker felt the weight of the glass in his hand. It felt heavy, overly heavy. Pouring the entire contents of the glass down his throat assisted in the weight issue. The familiar sensation of the liquor burning a hole in his esophagus was welcome... almost soothing. Taking the bottle into his hand, Thomas poured himself another drink, downing that one as well before refilling his glass and placing it back on the table, spinning the glass with his index finger and thumb. He watched the light from the weak and exposed light bulb contort on the table is it was refracted by the glass's imperfections and the brown liquor itself.
"That doesn't explain how you know the *****." Thomas muttered. The *****, Enclave Intelligence Specialist #411, bane of his existence, Charlotte the Harlot all names of the same soul sucking demoness, "Convenient that you would show up at Lucy's door step the same day that she does."
Was it Shifty's turn to play paranoid? No. Not just yet. Thomas had the feeling that #411 was up to something else. It was likely that due to her obsession with Lucy, #411 had merely been monitoring the poor woman and had decided to pay her a visit after Jonathan had.
"But that's what #411 would want me to think." Thomas considered aloud. When it came down to it, there were a lot of unknowns in regards to #411, "Clearly she's made an impression on me, having tortured me and used me as leverage. I'm left with the impression that she's on your mind for a completely different reason, otherwise you wouldn't have come to talk to me about her. That is the reason that you came up here, correct? To see what my association with her is? To see if I might be some sort of spy for her? If that's the case, she's got plans for you. You're of some use to her, otherwise you'd be locked up in some interrogation room."
"I already gave you the reason I came here." Jonathan stated in a matter-of-fact way, "And anyway, we'll get there. You know that #411 arrived at Lucy's house. At the time, I had already departed with the other guest she had, Kristin Blamco." His face lightened up a bit when he mentioned her.
"Good woman, that one. Beautiful, and dependable from what I've seen of her. Total monster in battle, too. She is a bit... quirky, though."
He shook his head, in disbelief that he actually just uttered praise like he did. The drinking must've made him more open that he wanted to be.
"Anyway, I had agreed to travel as her guide, and we were already almost out of Springvale by the time we saw the Vertibird arrive, from it emerging #411 and two power-armored bodyguards. By the time we sneaked back to the house, they had already secured the perimeter. Kristin favoured a frontal assault, but I feared that would jeopardize Lucy's safety. I sneaked in to find Lucy, and I did, right as #411 was telling her her little sob story. And then..."
"#411 revealed a video feed. You were in it. She gave Lucy 20 seconds to give in to her demands or you would be shot dead. I intervened, disarming her as Kristin took care of the guards and got her to cancel her order, but..."
He downed his drink, "Lucy tore her artificial eye out. To frame #411 and... to keep my identity safe."
"As if that would work!" he yelled in frustration at how pointless that move was and how guilty it made him feel. "The Enclave always kept archives! Always! I knew full well that going in there would mean my identity would be compromised, but I accepted that if it meant Lucy would be safe!" he slammed his fist on the table, "And look how well
THAT fucking turned out!"
A brief silence followed, with Jonathan taking deep breaths to try and calm down. That wasn't working too well. He raised his empty glass again, growling a disgruntled and blunt "Pour"
The pain that was plaguing the Friendly Former Undertaker's chest disappeared at the mention of this Kristin Blamco. The way that Jonathan Aristotle McKenna spoke of the woman indicated where the man's affections lay. It was almost like looking in a mirror at himself. Almost. Thomas wasn't nearly as drunk as Jonathan. The bottle was near empty now. Jonathan having imbibed a majority of its contents while another substantial portion had sloshed out of the bottle during Thomas' failed and interrupted attempt at pouring it down the drain.
It was strange, this man who was and was not him. The way he described this Kristin Blamco reminded the Tall and Pale man of Sylph/Sylphee. He doubted, however, anyone could live up to the physical incarnation of quirkiness that Was Sylph herself. It would be interesting thing if Sylph and Kristin were having a conversation similar to this at this very moment. Well, perhaps not interesting in what was being discussed but rather how they were discussed.
Pouring the remainder of the bottle into Jonathan's glass, Thomas pushed his nearly full glass towards Jonathan as well, indicating that he was done drinking, perhaps forever. Where he was going, he would need his wits. Looking at the man that Jonathan was, Thomas felt a certain kinship towards him and at the same time, he felt a fair amount of pity. This was the previous incarnation of Thomas. This was Thomas filled with regret. He had no desire to be the Thomas that Jonathan was channeling.
"There's nothing that can be done about it now." The Optimistic Former Undertaker stated, perhaps a bit too cheerfully for the drunk's tastes. Standing up, walked over to the bed and pulled on his pants and tossed Jonathan his Laser Pistol, "No amount of self pity or anger can change what's already been done. Lucy, you, myself. We've all suffered at the hands of that soul sucking Enclave wench. If there's something good that's come of this, it's that I know that I should look over my shoulders Lucy, my companions and I travel to Dunwich."
There was no inclusion of Jonathan and Kristin in this. He suspected that if Kristin had managed to kill a number of Enclave personnel without being placed in the Enclave queue for full body cavity searches, there was something more important to #411 than a number of grunts.
"It's strange. I always wondered how she lost her jaw." Thomas said in reference to Jonathan's past mention of his run in with the Undertaker's Union, "I guess I have my answer."
Jonathan nearly choked on his drink, "Dunwich!" he exclaimed in horror. He got up, too quickly for a man as drunk as he were, and almost fell back on his chair.
"You're going to FUCKING DUNWICH?!" he exclaimed, stumbling, "Have you ever been there before? Do you have any IDEA what's there? No, of course you don't. You're not so stupid. I don't
think you are so stupid!"
"Now, you listen here good, Thomas Shifty McGee!" he pointed an accusatory finger at the former undertaker, his voice stumbling along, "I sold my life and Kristin's to #411 to get you and Lucy off the hook! I will not have you throwing your fucking lives away!"
Thomas shrugged. He initially didn't feel the need to explain himself. If there was one thing that he learned about the Enclave during his time experiencing their hospitality it was that they had little knowledge of what a promise was and what it meant to be indebted to another, the lengths that you would go to to free yourself of that debt. It was to Jonathan's benefit however that Thomas remembered that it was because this a similar sense of debt that Jonathan had made a deal to keep Lucy safe. Shifty calmed himself after a moment before addressing the drunk man.
"Listen, Jonathan. I know that you understand what it's like to owe your life to someone and what happens as a result. My companion, Arizona, needs to go to Dunwich and I promised her that I would guide her there. I owe her my life for what she did for me. So I don't have a choice in the matter, not if I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror." Thomas said in a way that expressed that there had been a time where he couldn't bare the sight of him, "If you think we're ill equipped for the journey, advice would be good, the presence of you and Kristin might be better but I'd not be the one to suggest it wholeheartedly after the recent exchange of blows that we shared."
"We're going to leave in the morning and given the hour, I think that a little rest in order. Perhaps you might want to consider it for yourself."
Jonathan stared at McGee utterly defeated. He wanted to smash the man's face in; Jonathan had sacrificed his life to save him and Lucy, but here was Shifty, completely disregarding that, planning to take Lucy to that hellhole. He finally understood; behind all the courtesy and pleasantries, to Shifty Jonathan was just another Enclave mook. Yes, he was surely thankful that Jon went ahead and gave his life away to save his and Lucy's, but he could bugger off with his actually reasonable demands, the Enclave bastard. Used and tossed aside.
"You're not getting any rest. It's already morning." Jonathan stated bitterly, withdrawing to himself, knowing that any attempts to rationalise all this would be turned down.
"You know... I actually thought I'd have done some good for once." he stared at Shifty, ready to cry, "That, maybe, I could save two people, give them something akin to a... "normal" life."
"I'm a fool, aren't I?" he stared sorrowfully to the ground, "Yeah, there's no other way to define me. Just an old fool, used and tossed aside when no longer needed."
Laser pistol in hand, Jonathan started walking to the door, "It's moments like these that I think she's right", he muttered as he opened the door, "That I really shouldn't have bothered." He walked out, and slammed the door shut.
Thomas looked at the door. He felt sorry for the man. Perhaps he'd find some sort of happiness some day. Jonathan Aristotle McKenna couldn't have been all that bad, he did spare the life of Shifty's cousin, even though he'd shot off her jaw. He didn't begrudge the man for that. Shiver was something of a psychopath, like most of Henry's trainees from his Undertaker days.
Still, he had a feeling that he'd be hearing from Jonathan after some time. Though he didn't realize that some time would turn out to be only a few minutes later.