MacCready laid down on his stomach next to Nick. The synth could smell the fresh cigarette on his young friend. He wondered if it was that strong on him whenever he had just finished a smoke. It didn’t matter. The two men had been sitting on top of the hill for two days, watching humans and ghouls enter and leave the building. When they watched a man wearing a collar with a red light on it walk in with a tough looking ghoul following behind, they knew they had the right building. Now they were watching to get enough intel to know how best to proceed breaking up this little ring.

Ever since they left the C.I.T. ruins, MacCready was telling Nick everything he knew about the Rose Gang, which wasn’t much. It was founded about a decade ago, out of the wreckage of a bigger slave ring known as Paradise Falls. The Rose Gang was one of the faster growing gangs at the beginning, and that lead Marian an MacCready to focus attention on them. The idea of Marian fighting without expecting pay wasn’t surprising to Nick, but for MacCready it was. Until Nick found out how many kids from his hometown disappeared to this gang. The former mayor wanted to avenge all the kids who disappeared from Little Lamplight, even if it happened after his stay there.

He continued to be a nuisance for them, after he and Marian lost contact with each other, but he wasn't as effective without her. He wasn't as stealthy either, and managed to get on their radar. He stopped going out of his way to harass them when he settled down to be a father, but he and the gang were both willing to shoot if they ever found the other in their sights.

The gang was led by two brothers, Ed and Hank. A few years ago, shortly before MacCready left The Capital Wasteland, there was some sort of slave uprising. Hank died in the fiasco, as well as a reasonable portion of the gang itself. Crippling their growth and power, and with all their inventory running for freedom, they had no capital to grow back to the powerhouse they were.

It seemed that now Ed was trying to set up in The Commonwealth. Nick kept trying to figure out how big the gang would be. They may have lost a lot of members in the journey North, but Marian was able to get six ghouls the distance, wouldn’t it have been easier if all the members of the traveling party were experienced fighters? How many corpses did he see in the C.I.T. Ruins, and what percentage of the total gang before that fight did they represent?

Two people stepped out of the cannery. They were dressed like raiders. Nick was too used to people who called themselves part of a gang to dress like businessmen. They looked around for a bit, when one pointed in the direction of the stake out. Nick knew they were spotted. He was about to push himself up, when he heard a gun click behind them. He let himself go slack, no use fighting if he was caught.

Nick heard MacCready's rifle go off, and he heard an “oof”. He rolled over, to see one man fall to the ground, blood oozing out of his abdomen. The synth took up the young man’s lead and pulled out his revolver. He shot at someone else, hitting her in the throat.

He didn’t get much farther before he felt a blow to the side of his head. He was dazed for a second, but it was enough to find himself with the barrel of an assault rifle in his face. Marian always did want to shoot him. But this wasn’t Faenus in his face, it wasn’t Marian holding the rifle. It was another woman, one who looked like someone who would shoot without provocation or warning. He dropped his revolver and raised his hands.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

MacCready’s stand didn’t seem to last very long either. Nick was able to look over and see MacCready laying on his side, blood trickling from his temple, his gun was nowhere to be seen. A male ghoul was putting a collar around his neck. At least he was alive, no one wasted a collar on a corpse. MacCready started moving again, but he seemed sluggish, he knew they had lost the fight.

A man in his mid-thirties walked across the grass towards the group. The way everyone looked at him, even moved out of his way, it was obvious they were waiting for orders from him. The man sauntered straight to MacCready and knelt down next to him.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, MacCready?” the man asked before standing up and kicking the mercenary in the stomach.

MacCready doubled up on himself as he let out a sharp cry of pain.

“Take him to the holding pen,” the man ordered, “we can sell him with the rest of the stock.”

The ghoul who put the collar on him picked him up and forced the companion to his feet. MacCready didn’t seem to be standing right, but he was standing.

“What about this thing?” the woman who had Nick at gunpoint asked.

“We have no use for something that’s signaling the Institute. If they want their property back, they can take it back and fix it up. Shoot it and let’s get back to work.”

“No!” MacCready shouted, straining at the large ghoul’s grasp.

The slavers turned to him in stunned silence.

“You…you don’t want to do that,” MacCready said. “That isn’t an institute synth. I mean he is, but he’s not property. He thinks and acts like a normal person, but he doesn’t need to eat and sleep like one.”

The head slaver scratched the stubble on his chin. “Interesting. That will be hard to sell, but the price for a slave who doesn’t need to eat, or sleep will be worth the effort. Okay, let it live.” He looked straight at Nick and looked the synth over.

“Should I collar it?” the woman asked.

“Where? Use your fucking head. The thing doesn’t have enough neck to collar.” He walked up to Nick and put his face up near the detective’s. Nick wanted to bite his nose clean off. “If what your friend says is true, then you can understand exactly what I’m saying. If you decide to start fucking around, I’m going to kill your friend. Do what I say, and we’ll get along just fine.”

Nick couldn’t help but growl his assent at the man in his face.

“Glad we see eye to eye. Cut off its clothes, it won’t need them.”

One of the other slavers came up to Nick with a knife and cut off his beloved trench coat. Nick stayed on his knees, trying to stay as still as he could, unless instructed to move, as he felt his shirt and pants destroyed. His hat was even tossed to the wind. Nick never felt so naked before in his life. He knew how broken down he was, but he hated having to see it. The cracks in every crease and joint, the missing parts to his skin, even the fact that the skin on his lower legs had worn off decades ago, made him feel more vulnerable than ever. Even MacCready seemed shocked at the sight of what Nick really looked like. He could just make out pity in his friend’s eyes.

“I guess this thing will be worth less than I thought. Bring it inside anyway, we can always shoot it later.” Ed walked down the hill towards the building.

The woman forced Nick to walk, while the other members passed them towards the building. Two members stayed behind to pick up the weapons from their fallen comrades, as well as from the stakeout.

They were led into the cannery, and into the production room. Nick watched MacCready being led up some stairs, while he was forced into a nook near the conveyor belt. Nick heard a noise behind him and turned around to see a large metal door moving into the opening. So, this was going to be how they held him until they figured out what to do with him. He guessed he should be grateful, at least MacCready saved his life. He could only hope he could return the favor and get MacCready his freedom back.