POV Rio
It had been only a few days before Bobbi tried something stupid. I know because I saw the 30-plus men she hired enter her house. None came back out. Then Bobbi asked me and Mel to come back the next day. We walked all the way to the area where the massive reptile called its home, and I could very clearly smell blood. And lots of it. Then I used my magic eyes and saw the absolute carnage in the lair. And the worst part is that the Alligator was barely injured at all.
"Sigh. Let me guess, you tried violence and that failed miserably, so now you want us to try and find a way around it," I say with a deadpan voice.
"Cough. Well, um, not exactly. I tried a few things. Bait. Poison. Some Robots. Then violence. None of it worked. And we can't go around it. I have already checked the maps. We need to get to a room right next to that creature to get below the strongroom. So I figured you might have some magic stuff that could resolve this situation," Bobbi says while avoiding eye contact.
"Sigh. Magic isn't omnipotent. I can't just wave my hands and magically make the creature disappear... That being said, I can think of a way that we could possibly kill or at least injure it," I say, but make it clear I won't say right away.
"Sigh. Fine. I'll pay you more. Heck, I will give you 40% if you can get rid of this monster," Bobbi offers.
"60%," I counteroffer.
"No way, that would leave hardly anything for me. 45%," Bobbi counters again.
"This job can't continue without my solution. 55%," I counter.
"You're right, but that is still too much. How about 45% but I give you info that you might find useful. And you keep anything non-info related both in these tunnels and in the Strongroom," Bobbi gives her final offer.
"Fine. You got a deal. Now here's the plan. Sonya or another modified Eyebot will fly past the monster and into the room we need. This will attract the gator and cause it to likely chase Sonya. Then Sonya gets below some structural pillars and activates its emitter at full blast. The sound will discombobulate the gator and cause the room to collapse. Burying or possibly killing the gator. I will say that the robot will likely not survive," I lay out the plan.
Bobbi has to convince Mel, but in the end, we try the plan. While that is happening, I prepare the backup plans. I was fully aware that the collapsing roof would likely only injure the gator. Maybe badly, but not mortally. Not unless we were extremely lucky. Also, I was fortunate that Bobbi gave me the info ahead of time in exchange for a drop in percentage in case this doesn't work. The info was actually far more valuable than Bobbi likely realized. She told me of a shipment from Vault-Tec that was being held at a Settlement turned Raider base called Hangman's Alley. The reason it was so valuable was that it was a shipment that was supposed to be at the Regional Vault-Tec HQ but was lost as it was scheduled to arrive on October 23, 2077. And further, they were sent to Boston by accident, as they were supposed to be sent from Vault 76 to a lab for repair or destruction.
What was in these shipments? C.A.M.P.s. 5 of them. All broken or inoperable. The schematics were lost long ago or destroyed by the Enclave; either way, I needed them as they were the key to a massive improvement for this world. Just thinking of replicating them was making my mind burst with ideas. But that could be saved for later, as once Mel had given Sonya the orders, I brought him over to a steel cage nearby. Then once we were inside, I locked it.
"Uh, what are you doing? Bobbi's still out there," Mel asks.
"I know, just wait," I say while ensuring the door can't be opened.
RUMBLE
ROOOOOOOOARRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!
The gator seemed to have survived as I anticipated. Bobbi quickly realized we were no longer around and came running towards us. She tried to open the door, but it didn't budge.
"Open the door, Rio!" Bobbi says with a facade of a calm face.
"I'm sorry, Bobbi, I'm afraid I can't do that," I say calmly.
"What's the problem?" Bobbi asks calmly, but I can already see her panic rise.
"I think you know what the problem is just as much as I do," I respond.
"What are you talking about, Rio?" Bobbi starts looking behind her with fear.
"Goodneighbor is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it," I say with a serious look.
"I don't know what you are talking about," responds Bobbi with a slowly dawning look of rage and panic.
"I know you and Marowski are planning to overthrow Hancock. And I'm afraid that is something I cannot allow to happen," I respond with a cold look in my eyes.
"W-w-where the hell did you get that idea, Rio?" Bobbi says with a trembling hand.
"Bobbi, while you took very thorough precautions to prevent us from learning about your plot, I have a Pipboy map. And you left some files in your terminal," I say calmly.
Rumble
Dirt falls from the ceiling as the gator breaks free and starts trying to find us. Bobbi looks terrified and looks back at me before punching the door.
"Open the damn door, Rio! NOW!" Bobbi screams at me.
That just gets the attention of the gator, and it starts coming our way.
"Look, I will give you whatever you want, just open the door and let me in! Please!" Bobbi starts to beg.
"This conversation no longer serves any purpose. Goodbye," I state coldly before backing away from the door.
Mel watches this whole thing and looks like he is thinking of opening the door. But MacCready looks right at him, and Mel stops.
"Damn it, Rio! You'll pay for this! You think Marowski will let you go after this? He will find out what happened, and when he does, you and all your friends will suffer... But we can avoid all that if you let me in! Do it, and I will let this go," Bobbi threatens, but even if I wanted to let her in, it was too late.
ROOOOAR!
"NOOOOOO! AHHH GET AWAY!" Bobbi screams while shooting at the gator.
Crunch
Bobbi is snapped in half and then swallowed, but then the gator looks at us. Mel starts to cry and shakily aims his gun even if he knows it is useless. The gator lunges at the steel door and rips it away. I don't panic the whole time, as this was exactly as I planned.
"Art... Is an explosion!" I say while snapping my fingers.
Snap.... BOOOOOOM
A muffled boom and smoke come from the gator's mouth, and it freezes before collapsing. Mel just looks at the gator and falls to the ground.
"Huh, now that I look closer, this is a Crocodile. Still not sure if it is mutated, though," I comment.
"WHAT! What do you mean you don't know if it is mutated? It has to be. Look at how big it is," MacCready says while staring at it with fear.
"Well, Crocodiles keep growing forever and can live for several centuries, so with ample food and no threats to it, it's entirely possible it could grow this size.
"Wait, you're saying that these things can get this big naturally? What kind of hellscape made these things?" MacCready asks while backing away from the croc.
"Well, I said it might be natural, but I still think it is likely that it is mutated. Primarily due to its exceptionally tough skin. That and this size would require a long time for it to reach. I won't know for certain until I take it back and study it," I reply.
"Mind explaining what the hell just happened!" Mel said while pointing his gun at me.
I wasn't scared as the gun was jammed, and Mel didn't have the guts to attack when he was outnumbered and outgunned.
"It was simple, really. I knew Bobbi was lying to us, and I was an agent hired by Hancock to stop Bobbi. I was never going to allow Bobbi in here, as then I couldn't kill the croc. When we were talking about the plan earlier, I snuck some explosives into Bobbi's pockets. I knew that it was very likely that the croc was impervious to outside damage, so we needed to hit its likely squishier insides. Poisoned bait didn't work, so we would need explosives, and I just happened to need to get rid of Bobbi. A perfect win-win," I explain calmly.
Mel wasn't convinced, but I brought some evidence with me and was able to explain Bobbi's plans.
"Sigh. Damn it, Bobbi! I knew I shouldn't have taken this job. Something was off about it. If I knew we were robbing Hancock, I would have never taken the job. Now what happens to me?" Mel asks with an exhausted look.
"Well, I hope you are willing to come quietly. You're innocent in all of this, and I don't think you would want war to break out in Goodneighbor. But I am sure you know that Marowski won't let this slide. I have ways to deal with Bobbi, but in order for this to go well, I need you to disappear for a while. As the alternative is Marowski takes you, and you can imagine what would happen then," I say while making a gesture.
"Sigh. Yeah, I know, he won't let me go, and I don't want to enjoy his hospitality. And even if I told him everything, he would likely kill me anyway. Fine, where am I going? And for how long?" Mel asks.
"Well, we will continue into Hancock's Strongroom as Fahrenheit is waiting there for us. From there, you will be disguised and then sneak East to the Castle, where you will be put in the Basement. As for how long, I don't know. Likely no more than 2 months. And you will get great treatment at the Castle. And there are even plenty of robots and robot parts for you to use as you see fit. Even 2 Sentry Bots," I reply.
"SENTRY BOTS! You're serious, and you're going to let me mess with them? Oh, boy, I always wanted to tinker with a Sentry Bot. If that is what my accommodations will be like, then I have no issue going with it, but why are you trusting me with all that power?" Mel asks.
"Yes, but one can't be turned on for safety reasons. His computer systems have been corrupted and will attack anyone he sees. As for the trust, well, it's because even if you activated all the robots, they would be shut down before they could even walk a few steps. So there is no threat from you. You will have a caretaker while you stay at the Castle, but other than that, I am curious if you want to join the Minutemen?" I ask.
"Me? A Minuteman? I-I mean, I would like to help people, but I'm not the soldier type. I build robots, make neat machines, and tinker with stuff," Mel says with some hesitation.
"You want to help people. From what I have heard, you haven't been able to, as you had to take less savory work to keep food on the table. Robots are expensive, I understand that. Which is why I think the Minutemen are perfect for you. You get paid to help others, and you won't have to worry about being a soldier. The Minutemen aren't just for soldiers. I mean, most of our recruits are farmers and laborers. Most have no experience coming in, and that's fine. Some serve as cooks, others traders, heck, we even have a bartender. I assure you, we can find a job that is perfect for you. As long as you want to help people, the Minutemen will welcome you. Just think about it," I reply.
"I'll do that? So when do we leave?" Mel asks.
"Soon, before that, I have some questions. Do you know if Bobbi knew of anyone else who could do what you do? A Roboticist. As I will be using the excuse that you and Sonya died down here, which means Bobbi can't progress further. Not without another Sonya at the least," I ask.
"Hmm, there are a couple of people I know of, but Roboticists are really rare. And not to brag, but there are very few that could make a bot like Sonya. Not just because of talent but because of materials. This is partially why Roboticists are so rare. There's... One lady, her name was... Isabella, I think. It's been a few years. She was better than me, but I haven't heard from her in a long time, nor heard anything about her. Then there was that one guy who was pretty famous for a bit, but he vanished a few years ago. They called him the Mechanist, I think," Mel says.
"Oh, and then there was that one guy from Quincy, Sturges, I think? But you know... With that whole massacre, I don't think he survived. The Atom Cats could do it. But they aren't the type to help with this, and they are more Power Armor focused than robots. The Gunners have a Roboticist or two, but they are busy fighting the Enclave, so no dice there. Then... Well, there is one other group, but... It's super unlikely anyone would get their help. They're a bunch of crazy psychos. They call themselves the Rust Devils. But they don't play nice with anyone. Even most Radiers are better than them. Raiders will rob you, might do some other stuff, but you have a chance to at least walk away alive. Rust Devils kill everyone, Raiders, Gunners, Traders, and anyone else that is unfortunate enough to be near them," Mel says with a disgusted look on his face.
"Is that all? No others you can think of?" I ask.
"Hmm... Oh, shoot, I almost forgot. There is one other group. A caravan. I don't remember the name, but they travel around selling scrap and all sorts of stuff. But last I heard, they went South for some trading stuff and wouldn't be back in the Commonwealth until at least March. I know because I wanted to see if I could buy some robots or robot parts from them. But that should be all of the Roboticists around. Marowski might be able to find an amateur, but they won't be able to build a bot like Sonya anytime soon. Even I would take a month or so to build another Sonya from scratch," Mel says with confidence.
"Thanks for answering my questions, now let's get going," I say, and we start our trip to the Castle. Or rather, Mel and Tymbal did. I had Kevin take Bobbi's place, and I would return to Goodneighbor after speaking with Fahrenheit for a bit.
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Author's Note:
As the title suggests, Alligators and Crocodiles are Among US. Just look at Zuckerberg, that man is clearly an Alligator in disguise. But jokes aside, Rio was not going to be able to kill the Crocodile in any other way than the way he did. Also, I wonder who that Mechanist is, sounds like we got mystery on our hands. Until next time, Ciao.