Deadman

We made our way out of the facility, and for the first time I was able to see the damage I’d done through clear eyes. There were dozens of corpses. Throats were ripped out, heads exploded by shotgun rounds, and even some cleaved nearly in half. I hadn’t realized it until this moment, but I must’ve been absolutely covered in blood. Leah didn’t say anything, but I made sure she was walking in front of me as we moved, so I was certain she saw everything I’d done. Hell, when she’d met me in the room with V my mouth had probably still been dripping with blood.

I made a point to pause at several of the bodies, looting them for anything I could use, and keeping a special eye out for any more advanced tech. I nabbed three of the laser rifles, one that looked like a pistol version of them, and a few other small pieces of tech I didn’t recognize including two that looked like some kind of giant wristwatch.

When we made it outside I found the sun blinding. I pulled my hat down to shade my eyes and looked around. Graves was starting to move again, but slowly. He dragged himself from the crater that had been made by the explosive. When he reached Leah he pointed at me and gave her a thumbs up.

She nodded, “I agree.” She looked around the battlefield. “He knows what we are now. V had a long conversation with him before I managed to reach them.”

Graves tensed, but she held out her hand.

“Don’t worry. He’s on our side as long as what we’re doing benefits or at least doesn’t adversely affect deadmen. Right?” She looked at me.

“Right.”

“Let’s move to the rally point. Mercy should be waiting for us. I’m sure she’ll want to know how her gifts performed.”

“Should we do anything else about the factory?” I asked.

Leah shook her head. “No. The rads deeper in are so high that I doubt anyone else will be moving in any time soon. Besides, the bombs Mercy was able to plant and activate should’ve crippled the place for quite some time. It would take months to get it back up and running. Even besides all that V still only had it at limited functionality. For now, we just need to meet up with Mercy and then check on how well the settlement assaults went.”

We walked until the gas station base camp we’d made came back into view. Leah let out a whistle, and one was returned that indicated that traps were armed and it wasn’t safe to proceed. We paused there for some time and then there was another, distinctly different whistle, that let us know it was safe to move forward.

We made our way in and found Mercy at the center table of the station once again. She was grinning, and missing the eyepatch she’d had on earlier showing only a hole where her eye had been.

Graves gestured to his own eye when she saw him.

“Oh! I lost it when some of the mercs found me. I had to use the bomb I keep in my socket to take care of them. Lost the patch in the fray.” Her eyes drifted to me. “By the prophet, what happened to you?”

I grimaced a bit. “Don’t worry. It’s only about half my own blood.”

“Our friend here made it all the way into the factory and to V before I could.”

“Really? Did you show that traitorous bastard what a real servant of godly America can do?”

Leah nodded. “We all did.”

“Oh! How did the bomb I gave you all perform? Did it help with the drone?”

Graves gave her a thumbs up.

I nodded. “It scrapped it. Left a pretty intense crater too. We’d both be dead without it.”

Mercy smiled. “Good news all around then!”

“I’m going to take a few minutes, then we should clear out and move toward STAR forces.”

I shook my head. “I’m going to head back to Horde territory. I’ll travel with you part of the way so we can have our chat.”

Leah nodded. Her smile not shifting a millimeter.

With that she went to a corner and closed her eyes as I’d seen her do since we’d been traveling together. I realized now, with the information I’d gotten from V, that she was monitoring different people when she did that. Taking the time to see what they were doing as if she was looking through their own eyes.

I took this chance to start looking over my remaining notifications.

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in Pistol! Good job exercising your 2nd amendment rights

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in Investigation! Here in the US we have the right to question everything, except freedom!

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned ranks in Long guns! Good job exercising your 2nd amendment rights!

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned ranks in Melee Weapons! From Bowie knives to Pickett’s charge, the US may have been too advanced for swords, but it’s spilled blood for freedom!

Excellent work Marshall! You’ve successfully performed a secondary goal of your job ‘Combat’! You’ve earned 60 Patriot Points!

Excellent work Marshall! You’ve successfully performed the primary goal of your job ‘Completing Investigations’! You’ve earned 400 Patriot Points!

Congratulations Citizen! You’ve earned a level in Marshall, Justice is an American tradition. You have received +1 Strength, +1 Intelligence, and +1 Perception.

Congratulations Citizen! You’ve earned a level in Marshall, Justice is an American tradition. You have received +1 Strength, +1 Intelligence, and +1 Perception.

5th level also unlocks

Federal Authority: You cannot be affected by the abilities of others unless you choose to be

Between the fights, the investigation, and the points V had sent me before I died, it was the single biggest haul I’d ever received, not including the tech and other salvage I now had. The auto-leveling unfortunately cost me more points than I would prefer, leaving me with only a pittance. The Marshall levels cost more than the Postman ones did, but they certainly had more benefits to them. The fourth level was the first one I didn’t receive a new ability, and while the fifth level ability was very specific, it was also incredibly useful, especially with what I’d just learned from V. Me reaching that level and attaining that ability may have even been his goal, he might’ve thought I was more likely to try and shed blood than find a way to look beyond the immediate situation. Can’t blame him, I thought much the same myself. With that ability I should be able to resist being monitored by Leah, or being sent those notifications about removing my access to the system. Though now that I knew they were empty threats, that point was moot.

After we’d all had some time to recover Leah opened her eyes and gestured for me to meet her outside. I followed, careful of both my position and weapon placement as I followed. This could still all be a ruse, though the fact that Graves stayed inside indicated she likely wasn’t planning on offing me. Still, I was feeling raw. I'd made a tentative agreement based on what she and V had said, but I didn't have all of the facts. Besides all that, the decision of who to ally the Deadmen with wasn't exactly mine alone. I needed information, and assurances.

Once we were far enough away, Leah started to talk. “I’ve spoken with my people, the Remnants. They agree that having you continue to work with us is beneficial, and they see a lot of value in working with deadmen in general. Overall though, they see it as a practical issue. Why bother the deadmen in their territory if it's a place we can't survive in ourselves anyway?”

“How’d you talk to them?” I asked.

“All agents can talk to one another across distances through the system.”

“Where are they? These Remnants?”

Leah moved a hand involuntarily to the scar on her neck while looking up at the sky. “Very far, but closer than you’d think. At the moment though there aren't enough of us in the area to move things forward by force, that's why I've been focused on infiltration and research. What I have prepared will give your leaders more definite specifics on everything, but the short of it is what you've already heard, we are the remains of the legitimate US government, from before the bombs fell. We have partial control of the system, and access to tech you couldn't even imagine.”

“Like your thermal scope, and Graves' suit?”

“Exactly”

“And in this deal your leaders have prepared, Undertakers will be able to work freely? Deadman children will not come to harm?”

She nodded. “I’ve secured just that promise.”

My trigger finger itched a bit. This had a lot of potential, but I didn't exactly trust the woman who'd been using me to explore some of the most dangerous places in the wastes...though admittedly I may have wound up in those places myself eventually. Exploration was always part of my plans. “And what do you and yours want from us?”

“I want you to deliver some documents to start. We don’t have any contacts who even know where Pott’s is. We have theories, but some deadzones block out my ability to view what people are doing, particularly if they’re closer to the Cut.”

“So, you want me to act as a messenger?”

She nodded.

“Well, at least it’s a job I’m used to.”

She pulled out a metal cylinder. “Place your thumb here.” she said, indicating a finger sized square. I complied, and she pressed a button on the back of it. “This cylinder is radiation and explosion proof. It can only be opened with your unique biometric signature. I have the initial agreement laid out in basic terms, as well as more general information. Do you have anyone with the lawyer profession in Pott’s?”

I nodded. “One of our honored dead has both the attorney and judge job.”

“He’ll be able to formally accept or decline it, or even alter it, and we’ll be notified when he does.” She handed me the cylinder. “I look forward to continuing to work with you.”

“Just keep things honest from here on and we won’t have any trouble. If you aren't...well you saw what I did in there, and I'm just one Deadman." I was taking a big risk, but for now that risk was only on me. If things went south at this point, the only one who'd wind up dead is me. If things worked out though...it would be worth it. Either way though, I'd have to hedge my bets a little, and I already had a few ideas on how to do that.