Fallout 4: AR

16. The Long Road Ahead

"If it were that easy, I would have done it already!" His voice was angrily intense. "No, there's too many of them for me to take on alone. Those two always have a small army around them." He paused, thinking. "Unless... maybe you and I could pay them a visit and finish them off before they realized what was happening."

All I could do was stare at him in disbelief.

"And before you get that look on your face, know that I wouldn't even be asking if I didn't think we could pull this off. I get the funny feeling that I might actually be able to trust you, you know."

Well, when you put it that way. "I'm not sure what I can do, but if you need my help, count me in. Change of plans; let's go take care of these guys."

The grateful smile that lit up his face made it all worth it. "Thanks, Boss. It's nice to know that you care."

-0-

What was I thinking? I scolded myself as I inched forward to get a better look at the small encampment by the base of the old raised highway. A small platform attached by long cables allowed access to the main base on top of the ruined highway high overhead. There were only a few Gunners on duty, but every one of them we could eliminate now was one less to deal with later.

I know what I was thinking, "Poor guy has no one he can count on, why not help him out?" and now I'm going to try and lure these guys out one at a time to be picked off. Brilliant. It probably wasn't the best plan, but it would make excellent use of MacCready's long-distance sniping skills. He had taken up a sniper's position overlooking both the camp on the ground by the interchange support beams, and a decent section of the actual Gunner base high overhead. I was to draw out the occupants one or two at a time, allowing for him to pick them off without them realizing where the shots were coming from. I had my own rifle locked and loaded, just in case, and my laser pistol strapped to my leg. Here goes.

Hefting a large rock, I tossed it as hard as I could in the direction of a nearby pile of scrap metal. As soon as it left my hand, I moved quietly towards a second location where I could lure the Gunners out into the open. A loud clang attracted the attention of the guards and, sure enough, two of them moved out to investigate. As soon as they cleared visible distance from the post, I faintly heard the wet crack of their heads being sniped with expert aim. Both Gunners fell without a sound. Damn, he's impressive with that scope.

The ruse worked two more times before the last remaining Gunner at the guard post got nervous enough to call for backup. Time to move.

MacCready told me there were two platforms leading up to the main base. The second one was concealed and usually only lightly guarded, but having been stationed here he knew where it was. We met up just outside the platform, MacCready having sniped the lone guard on his way over to meet up. As a full squad of Gunners took the main platform down, we snuck into the secondary one, taking it up simultaneously. If we could move quickly enough once reaching the top, we could take out the remainder of the squad, Winlock, and Barnes before the Gunners below realized what had happened. After that, it was a simple act for MacCready to toss a grenade onto the platform as they rode back up, and snipe any stragglers below.

That was the plan, anyway.

As soon as we came into view of the concrete overpass, we realized our mistake. Yes, MacCready knew about the second lift, but so did everyone else stationed here. A semicircle of eight armed Gunners pointed the muzzles of their weapons directly at us. Behind them stood two men, one of whom was shaking his head. "C'mon, MacCready, you knew the deal. You were supposed to stay out of Gunner territory. And here you are, giving sightseeing tours." He gave me a nasty grin that froze the breath in my chest, "Or did you bring us a peace offering? She's almost pretty enough to be used." The line of Gunners guffawed at that jab. MacCready ground his teeth in response. I was frozen in fear, hands clenching my rifle.

"No answer? Figures." He snickered obnoxiously again. "Now, we're going to want those weapons as soon as you're dead, so why don't you place them down nice and gentle at your feet?"

I glanced at MacCready. His face was set in angry lines, but he very slowly crouched down, setting his sniper rifle on the metal platform by his feet. I followed his lead, less gracefully, losing my balance as I crouched to reach forward and set my rifle on the edge of the overpass. To the sneering laughter of the squad, I staggered to one side, landing on hands and knees. My breath was coming in short panicked pants. We're going to die, we're going to die. MacCready stooped down to help me back to my feet and, in doing so, he pressed a sphere of cold metal into my hand.

No fucking way... Hope blossomed fiercely.

As we stood up to face our executioners, hands behind our backs at parade rest, the speaker apparently decided to finish his game. Signaling to the squad, he addressed us one more time, "Any last words, MacCready?"

"Yeah, Winlock." he answered, suddenly relaxed and confident. "NOW!"

We tossed the frag grenades into the group of surprised Gunners, ducking to either side of the platform and using the upright steel safety panels to shield as much as possible. Even though I had clapped my ears to my head, the blast and resulting screams were deafening. MacCready had grabbed his sniper rifle when he moved, but my rifle had been blown away in the resulting blast. Damn it. Unholstering my laser pistol, we peered around the cover of the platform panels to finish the job.

The squad of Gunners were down, most of them unidentifiable pieces of limbs and torsos. I ruthlessly suppressed my gag reflex- they were going to execute us! – and scanned the area looking for movement. MacCready had already stalked over to where Winlock had been, and was silently aiming his rifle down at a wheezing, barely moving form. His face was set, blue eyes cold and distant as he squeezed the trigger. The merciful crack reverberated with a set finality. He repeated the action a few more times, deftly dispatching any survivors- Wasteland mercy. Pausing to reload, he met my eyes with an expression of relief, which suddenly turned to alarm.

Crack!

A searing pain speared my side, and I fell, twisting to try and escape the agony. A second round caught me in the arm as I dropped. MacCready shouted and rushed over to crouch next to me, pulling his rifle against his shoulder and firing with deadly accuracy. I writhed, desperately trying to stave off the pain. The backup squad had returned and were now charging our position, firing relentlessly. My companion was shooting as fast as he could sight on a target, but there were too many of them, coming too fast. My right arm was pretty much useless, the pain preventing me from lifting my pistol. But if I just reached out...

I grabbed desperately at MacCready's belt with my left hand, detaching the last frag grenade. Wheezing with the torment of effort, I bashed off the butterfly clip and pulled the pin with my teeth. The remaining Gunners were closing in fast. With a desperate heave that had me seeing stars, I tossed the grenade towards the approaching men, hoping it was far enough. MacCready reacted by pulling me into him, tumbling us to one side behind a line of sandbags piled next to the lift. The bang of the grenade heralded a blast of shrapnel and a chorus of dying screams, the impact jostling my already wounded side, and I passed out from the overwhelming pain.