The card killer Options

[Lopov]

@TheCheshireKhajiit - flying fluids!

@Renee - his face is kind, I think, and cute too. He has some facial hair but not much.

@SubRosa - Deeno, one of my more evil characters in Fallout, was killed by mirelurks because he was careless. Cory is more clever and often avoids combat if possible.

@Acadian - yes, "I need a hero" sounds like an appropriate song for the Capital Wasteland right now.

_______

X

Sheriff Simms recognized a potential when he saw it. Young Cory Costner who saved his life about a week ago, now contributed to the safety of Megaton again – he successfully disarmed the undetonated atomic bomb that was lying dormant in Megaton for many years. Sheriff Simms also noticed that Cory and Lucy West have become closely acquainted as of late, so an offer to the kid was made…

“Say, Cory, our town could use someone like you. To be honest, I need a reliable deputy, someone that’d protect the town and its surroundings. Any chances that you’d stay with us? There’s a free house for you right above us.” The Sheriff pointed in the direction of the small house placed above the Brass Lantern.

“Besides, I think that Lucy West would be very happy to have you stay here with us. With her. What do you say?”

Sheriff Simms expected a negative answer because according to his experience good people always came and left, but surprisingly Cory said: ”Gladly.”

Sheriff Simms firmly patted him on the back. “That’s awesome, kid. Say, you ever heard of the Regulators?”

“I met some of them, mostly in the west,” said Cory and lit a cigarette. “You’re one of them, aren’t you? I recognized your coat.”

“Indeed I am. And it’s good to hear that you’re familiar with us – not many people are left to maintain peace in the wastes so people like us, the Regulators, are very much needed. Besides, we’re always looking for new recruits that’d contribute to the greater good. I’d like to invite you to our ranks, to make you an official lawman of the Capital Wasteland. What do you say?”

The same answer as before: “Gladly.”

“Great, kid. You aren’t tough to persuade, are you?” smiled Simms.

“Depends on the offer.”

“Well, I’ll sure be happy to have you around. Now to make things official, you’ll need to travel to our HQ in the Capital Wasteland and enlist there. I’ll mark the location on your PipBoy. Once there, talk to Sonora Cruz, she’s our leader in these parts. You’ll show her the note which I’ll write for you and then you’ll officially join us.”

“Can’t wait.”

“Good to hear. There are all sorts of psychos out there to deal with, but while I can’t truly blame mutants and feral ghouls, raiders I sure can, so that’s what Regulators are mostly about – dealing with the worst of human race has to offer. There are also some sly killers at work from time to time like that card killer, ever heard of him?”

“Nope.”

“Well, right now he’s somewhere here in the Capital Wasteland but what scares me is that I found one of our former citizens dead in Springvale a while ago and there was the [censored] card next to her body.”

“What card?”

“Oh sorry, you said you don’t know him. Well there’s some sick [censored] roaming the wastes, preying on lone women. He [censored] them, then cuts their throats and leaves cards next to their bodies. Sick, isn’t it? Such corpses were lately found in the Capital Wasteland, mostly in the south and who knows how many more haven’t been found yet. Some of our fellow Regulators that came from other places, told me of similar killings, so looks like the killer isn’t staying in one place for too long. What I’m saying is that while raiders are easy to track down and kill, guys like the card killer can be a tough nut to break, know what I mean?”

“Sure.”

“But enough of that now, I’m sure you’ll meet your own share of killers in the career that’s ahead of you. I’m going to write a message for Sonora now and you can leave to our HQ whenever you feel ready, alright kid?”

“Sounds good.”

Sheriff Simms patted the soon-to-be-deputy on the back again, then left for his house. As the kid lit another cigarette, he looked at his own reflection in the drinking glass in front of him. Becoming a deputy wasn’t in his plan, but the offer was too good to refuse.

_______

Lucy West

Disarming the bomb

Lucas Simms

The deputy's shack

Lucy visiting

Dining with the sheriff

[Renee]

F5... F5 ... F... Ah there we go.

The devil's right in front of them all now. Not only that, but even though Lucas hopes he sticks around, the CK's also got a legit reason to travel again. So here we go again.

This post has been edited by Renee: Oct 13 2017, 04:35 PM

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

If power corrupts, what does it do to someone who is already corrupt? Khajiit is afraid the CK is about to unleash a nightmare on Megaton!

[SubRosa]

The wolf is now guarding the sheep pen!

[Acadian]

Wow! Cory may find himself on the trail of that dastardly Card Killer! Oh the irony!

Darn, I'm starting to kind of like Lucy. That means she's probably gonna be found with a card, eh?

[Renee]

Darn, I'm starting to kind of like Lucy. That means she's probably gonna be found with a card, eh?

I'm guessing she won't be. She lives too close around other people, and stays within Megaton at all times. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't just see her getting offed while "Cory" is around, and then he expects people not to suspect him. He's too smart for that.

Maybe I'm wrong though.

[Lopov]

Thanks to all of you that are still faithfully following the card killer's tale. Today's story features a twist of sort and the card killer's plans get disrupted.

Also, in the following story late scavenger Violet and her tamed yao-guai are mentioned again so in case you need to refresh your memory, I recommend reading story V again, at least the beginning.

_______

XI

Sonora Cruz welcomed the newest member among their ranks, briefly explained him the rules of “regulating” and handed him the duster that’d identify him as a lawman of the Capital Wasteland.

The legend among the regulators, Sonora Cruz was considered one of the toughest women of the wasteland – numerous good-for-nothings tried to take her life but every single one of them met his death at the hand of Sonora. She wasn’t a woman to mess with and in her long career of a peacemaker she acquired what she called a sixth sense for people.

And she sure as hell didn’t like Cory Costner. “He’s trying too hard to be cute. I don’t like his pleasing smile at all,” thought Sonora. But when Cory was putting his jacket down, Sonora got another, even better reason not to trust him – in the inner pocket of his jacket she noticed a yellow radio head set. Such sets were extremely rare, and so far Sonora Cruz saw only one in her entire life, and it belonged to her friend Violet, who roamed the wastes with her tamed yao-guai Willy. And by now it was well-known that Violet was found dead with the card next to her.

“Hey, Cory! Where’d you get that yellow headset?”

She noticed that he “froze” for a second, like her question unsettled him.

“I bought it from a scavenger,” he answered and the kind smile was gone from his face. “Why?”

“Did you? And was that scavenger a woman?”

“No, a man. But he told me that this headset belonged to some dead woman. Some well-known scavenger. He wanted three hundred caps for it.”

“Did he now?” The disbelief in her voice was hard to miss.

Well he got me now, she thought. Maybe he’s talking the truth, maybe some scav found Violet’s corpse and took her radio set, then sold it to this guy. But if he’s lying…then we’ll have to keep an eye on him.

“The late scavenger was a good friend of mine,” continued Sonora, her eyes firmly fixed on Cory’s. “She also had a lovely pet – a tamed yao-guai called Willy. Did you ever see a tamed yao-guai, Cory?”

“No,” he curtly replied and Sonora sensed that she’s making him slightly nervous.

“Well this friend of mine had this particular radio set. Probably the only one around that’s yellow.”

“So I reckon you want it?” he asked.

“No, no, just keep it. I wanted to be sure, you know. She was killed by the card killer. You familiar with the guy?”

“Lucas Simms told me about him.”

“Good. Then you wouldn’t mind if my guys search you thoroughly, would you? We have to be careful these days with the killer on the run. This guy's really sick, you know? I bet he has a small d!ck so he has to please himself by having sex with his victims before killing them. I bet he has all kinds of complexes, maybe he was even molested as a child.” Sonora's eyes never left Cory's and the same could be said for his. "Anyway, back on topic...you don't mind if Ernesto and Johnny search you, right?"

“No problem,” shrugged the newest regulator though Sonora sensed that she unsettled him.

Sonora’s two henchmen searched Cory but didn’t find any cards.

“Satisfied?” asked Cory.

“I’ll have to be. Alright, kid, good hunting out there. I’m looking forward to hearing about your deeds. I bet there will be plenty.”

“Hope you’re not mad about the headset. I believe it brings me good luck so I always carry it with me since I bought it.” The kind smile was back.

“It’s alright, kid. Now let’s see you at work!”

Cory put his new hat on, nodded in goodbye and left the shack. A distance east of it he approached the raider which he killed on his way to the shack, and took a set of tarot cards from his pocket.

“You’re as good as dead, Sonora Cruz.”

He clenched the cards. It always made him nervous when people were asking too many questions. Even more nervous as they talked about his complexes! His!They were the one with complexes! All of his victims deserved it! Deserved it right through their necks! Wh0res! All of them were wh0res! Stupid headset! Why didn’t he get rid of it?

“F**k you, Sonora.”

He clenched cards even more, tearing some of them.

This wasn’t what he was planning.

“Why did I even accept this stupid role of a deputy?”

He was careless and now it were better if he left the Capital Wasteland. Too bad, he could see himself living with Lucy. He wouldn't harm her, she was better than others, she cared about him. He felt good with her. He really intended to try and stop his killing habit and live an ordinary life with Lucy but this bleeding b!tch Sonora Cruz ruined everything. She's going to pay! Many, many of them are going to pay! Nobody f***s with the card killer.

Disturbed more than ever, the newest regulator headed northeast. He should return to Megaton but he wanted to enact his vengeance on the first woman he'll come across. If he hurries, he should be in Megaton by tomorrow. By then he would think of another plan.

_______

Sonora Cruz

Lucy West

[Renee]

Ha ha he got nervous, the little punk. Good episode, scoundrel. Sonora's not going to get hurt, I bet. He can't go there. If he does, he really is losing his cool.

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Bahahaha looks the CK met a worthy opponent!

[SubRosa]

Uh oh, Deputy Kevin Costner may have gotten in over his head with Sonora! I wonder which one will end up with their throat slit?

[Acadian]

Woot! It is great to see the CK rattled - and Sonora is awesome. Once alone, he reveals that Sonora likely has him pretty well pegged. Maybe he's rattled enough to screw up. We can only hope.

[Lopov]

@Renee - don't bet too much on Sonora's not getting hurt.

@TheCheshireKhajiit - he did indeed.

@SubRosa - maybe neither.

@Acadian - Sonora's words definitely changed a lot of what the card killer had in plan. For better or for worse, that yet remains to be seen.

_______

XII

As Crow, one of the four wandering merchants in the Capital Wasteland, and his loyal bodyguard Natasha were approaching the Temple of the Union, a safe haven for runaway slaves, they immediately noticed that something was terribly wrong. Outside there was a dead brahmin and next to it lay the corpse of their friend Crazy Wolfgang, another wandering merchant.

“Ready your weapons,” Crow ordered his bodyguard as he checked his late friend’s corpse. “He’s still warm so whoever did this left recently…or is still here.”

They slowly approached the ruined three-story building called the Temple of the Union and found the main door surprisingly unlocked. At all times escaped slaves kept the door tightly locked and only when trading, the merchants were let in, so Crow was positive that escaped slaves faced the same fate as his poor friend Crazy Wolfgang.

“I bet slavers sniffed the place out,” he told Natasha.

Crow first found Caleb Smith’s corpse in his bed, his throat cut. The next one found was Simone Cameron, her throat cut as she was sitting at a table. In a common room were corpses of Hannibal Hamlin and Bill Seward. And when he was more and more convinced that it was slavers who slaughtered their former “property”, he found the corpse of the youngest escaped slave – Alejandra Torres. Next to her corpse was a card depicting death.

“[censored]! It wasn’t the slavers, Natasha. It was the card killer!”

Not far from the Temple of the Union the killer was hiding behind some tree, inspecting Crow’s actions from a safe distance thanks to his scoped .44 Magnum. It wasn’t in his habit to kill as massively, he only wanted Alejandra but after Sonora Cruz pissed him off with her questioning, he needed to unleash his wrath on someone. Besides, if he had killed only Alejandra, it wouldn’t be difficult for other escaped slaves to put two and two together about the card killer’s identity – the seemingly friendly Regulator called Cory Costner who came to their temple this very day, pretending to be on a lookout for slaves. So unfortunately for Alejandra’s friends, they had to be removed too. And when he was done with them, Crazy Wolfgang and his stupid bodyguard came to the Temple to trade, in other words they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. A shame, he didn’t have anything against them, but he couldn’t afford to leave witnesses behind.

Despite mass murdering the card killer didn’t feel much better. Sonora Cruz ruined some of his plans and he had no doubt that regulators will spy on him as he’ll be performing his duty in or around Megaton. So maybe it was time to “die”. He “died” a few times before to elude those that found him suspicious. And then when he “dies”, Sonora would get what she deserves.

_______

The Temple of the Union

Of course he is on their side

Dining with former slaves

Action

Another card victim

Unlucky merchant and his bodyguard

Crow's caravan approaches

[Renee]

Sonora Cruz ruined some of his plans and he had no doubt that regulators will spy on him as he’ll be performing his duty in or around Megaton.

That's right. Card Killer is as good as caught, pretty much, because Sonora's gonna start asking questions, right? She'd better.

I like how the Crow Crew all knew who was responsible right away, or at least suspected as much.

I will say goodbye early to Cory. His day is coming.

[SubRosa]

I wonder if Sonora will sniff out the murder of the Unionists and connect it to The CK. The proximity and timing make things look bad for him.

[Acadian]

Wow, he is getting braver, bolder and bloodier. Seems Sonora really pushed his buttons. If he was thinking clearly, he would have disappeared into the desert shortly after meeting Sonora. Seems he may be stumbling into his own undoing by keeping his profile high.

[Renee]

Wow, he is getting braver, bolder and bloodier.

Sloppier though, for sure. He's losing his cool.

[Acadian]

Wow, he is getting braver, bolder and bloodier.

Sloppier though, for sure. He's losing his cool.

I thing you are spot on right!

[Lopov]

What a nice discussion you all had.

Today's story was supposed to be much longer but I have a busy week and I didn't find time to edit and extend it. But I still think it's better to post it in its original form than wait another week to write more.

_______

XIII

The new deputy was well-liked among Megatoners. Though he was tasked with patrolling the vicinity of Megaton which meant that he usually left in mornings and returned in evenings, he made sure that the annoying preacher who kept rambling next to the now disarmed pre-war atomic bomb, preached no longer. The deputy kindly escorted him back to his church and advised him to preach there instead of in the middle of the town.

Walter, the local repairman, was glad to find out that the deputy wasn’t just handy with a gun but helped him fix some rusty pipes when he wasn’t on duty.

Jenny Stahl was glad to have him around in her bar, the Brass Lantern, because Jericho would leave her alone when Cory was around.

But the happiest was Lucy West who shared the bed with the new deputy. Though sheriff Simms gave him his own shack, Cory spent most nights at Lucy’s place.

Sonora Cruz, on the other hand, wasn’t as excited about the new deputy as Megatoners. Only a few days after he left the Regulators HQ, news of dead slaves at the Temple of the Union reached her. To her it made perfect sense that Cory Costner was behind it. Still, it was too damn obvious and surely Cory, if he was the card killer, would know that she would get even more suspicious. Unless this was his way of mocking her – her henchmen found no cards on him and as such she couldn’t accuse him of any crime but maybe the murders of escaped slaves were meant as revenge or as a warning to her.

In the following days she sent some of her regulators, disguised as simple travelers to travel in and around Megaton. When all but one, a young Regulator named Belle, returned, Sonora sent more guys to search the area around Megaton. It wasn’t long when her decapitated body was found by an abandoned barn west of the town, the card of death in the pool of blood next to her body.

Sonora knew it was time to act.

_______

Worthwhile

Lucy West

Belle

No one escapes from the card killer

Caught

Removing witnesess

The signature

[Renee]

Yeah, see, he just made some huge blunders. His ego's getting all hurt and stuff, and he's out of control, the [censored].

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Oooh! Someone's in trouble! Khajiit suspects the CK will find a way out it though.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Nov 3 2017, 05:14 PM