Inspired by TheChesireKhajiit, who created a separate thread for raider Victoria, I decided to post my latest tale in a separate thread as well. There'll be one story per week and if all goes according to plans, I should post them every Friday. Matching screenshots will be posted after each text, most of them but not all will be taken through the eyes of the main proantagonist.. Some stories will be long, some short, and sometimes you may recognize references of your own characters.

The stories ahead are dark though I'll try to make them humorous at times but most of all I hope you'll like them.

Enjoy.

_______

I

For the past two hours Lina has been spying on the pretty young guy sitting alone by the burning barrel – not because she’d be after him but because she wanted to be sure that he wasn’t some weirdo. She might have been a rookie in the bounty hunting profession, but she was very good at sneaking and thanks to her PipBoy who showed the [HIDDEN] icon on the top of the screen at all times, she knew that the young guy didn’t spot her.

Not seeing anything that’d make her suspicious, Lina joined him, and the stranger who introduced himself as Clive, gladly offered her some cram and a bottle of Nuka-Cola. Nobody could resist Nuka-Cola except undead and since Lina was very much alive, she gladly accepted the drink. It turned out that Clive wasn’t just pretty, he was also funny – so the more the Sun was setting, the better feeling Lina had about the coming night.

After Clive told her a little bit about himself, Lina revealed him that for the past few months she’s been on the track of the so called ‘card killer’. “In the wasteland it’s easy to get away with almost any crime but this guy or girl, I don’t know, but I think he’s a guy, always cuts throats of his victims, who are always women, then leaves behind a card depicting death. Like he wants to be recognized, you know? After one of my friends got killed, I decided to go after him. Or her, but I think he’s a guy. I pursued dangerous raiders before so I have some experience in tracking people down. Anyway, sometimes the trail would go cold for weeks but then rumors about a new murder and a new card would reach me, and the trail eventually led me here. The Capital Wasteland is just a few miles north of here and I’m sure I’ll catch up with him. Make him pay for his crimes. Sooner or later.”

Lina got a feeling that Clive wasn’t particularly interested in her story, either he didn’t take her bounty hunting profession seriously either he was hoping there’ll be some action between them this night. Well, Lina couldn’t blame him, after all she was also hoping for some action and it wasn’t long before Clive held her firmly in his arms.

***

Pleasantly tired, Lina was getting dressed as she saw Clive throwing her shotgun in the burning barrel. As he was pulling a blood-stained knife from behind his leather pants, his face didn’t seem nice anymore. Frightened Lina realized that she just had sex with the man she was after.

One slash at Lina’s neck was enough to end the aspiring career of a bounty hunter. She died not knowing that the stranger, whose name wasn’t Clive, had intentionally placed a camp in this location, waiting for her. Already down south he put a tracking device in her satchel and thanks to his own PipBoy he knew of Lina’s movement. He also knew that she liked men a lot, and hoped that she’ll stop by.

As ‘Clive’ was walking north towards the Capital Wasteland, he thought of Lina’s words, realizing she was right about many things – he was a guy, he cut throats of his victims, he preyed on women and he always left a card depicting death behind. However, she missed one vital information. Before killing his victims, ‘Clive’ had sex with them.

_______

Lina talks

Lina has some Nuka

Lina talks again

Lina on top

Lina frightened

Lina is gone

The killer's signature

Leaving

Oh ho! "Clive" is a dastardly villain, that's for sure! Khajiit really likes the strict 1st person POV of the pics. It seems quite chilling to be in the head of the serial killer. Any plans on creating a foil for the killer? Like a hard boiled detective with his own personal demons maybe?

[censored] Lopov.

See, it's like I was saying, I don't like "Clive" but this story is intriguing. Poor Lina.

How did you get the "on top" picture? Is that the same mod I'm using in Janet's game? And also the card? Well, don't tell us how you got the card. I kinda like the mystery there.

But yikes. Once-a-week is good...that's about what I can handle 'cause this story's scary!

I am hoping a crow lands on Lina, pecks at her a few times, and then she rises from the dead to wreak a terrible vengeance!

If it was Fallout4, she could even have the face paint!

Yikes! Makes me want to hire Rattler to take out 'Clive'!

I like your style of putting any screenshots together at the bottom instead of imbedding them up in the text. Pros and cons to each style but I find keeping them together at the bottom avoids breaking up and distracting from the reading.

Yeah the biggest thing this one hates about the way Khajiit does it (and this may be unique to phones) is that when you click on the link for the pic, it brings up the pic on Imgur's site but won't let you return to where you were in the post; you have to go back through the forums and back into the thread.

Thanks for your comments!

Most screenshots will be taken through the eyes of the killer though after he commits a crime, some will be taken from other perspectives.

So far I don't have plans of a detective that'd chase him.

I guess it must be the same mod, the one which allows for a few sexual positions to be shown in the game. While I normally don't use this mod, it adds a certain something to this particular story.

Fortunately for the killer, undead don't walk the Capital Wasteland except Persephone.

It'd be interesting to see the duel between Rattler and 'Clive' for sure but (un)fortunately the first one is already dead.

_______

II

Edgar Wellington the Second was such a loser, at least in the eyes of his wife Millicent, who insisted on being called Lady Wellington or Madam Wellington. Nobody in the Tenpenny Tower could tolerate Millicent and her own husband cheated on her as much as possible when she wasn’t around - which was rarely.

That’s why lady Millicent liked Chris so much. He was pretty, nice, held doors for her as she passed, and promptly addressed her as Lady Wellington. Even more, he dealt with pesky ghouls that were threatening to invade the Tenpenny Tower.

It wasn’t difficult for Chris to seduce lady Wellington, lead her to one of bedrooms in the tower, and at least for the following half an hour make her feel great again. But instead of caressing that should follow their love-making, Lady Wellington’s throat was brutally cut. She managed to get out one desperate cry for help but nobody heard her highness and in the next seconds she was lying dead naked.

The young man whose name wasn't Chris, placed the card depicting death next to her body, casually went to the upper floors to pick up his belongings from the room of Susan Lancaster who gladly hosted him for merely one hundred caps, then left the Tenpenny Tower.

As Millicent’s body was discovered a few hours later, Tenpenny residents were shocked but nobody felt particularly sad, especially not her late husband Edgar Wellington the Second, who finally felt free of his bonds again.

_______

Tenpenny Tower

Meeting Susan

"All and more is yours...for merely 100 caps."

Meeting Millicent

Charming

Stalking the Wellington couple

Millicent seduced

Millicent dead

Farewell

Yes, Edgar Wellington won't have to argue endlessly with his wife ever again because of Chris. I mean Clive. I mean...

That part when Chris's name first gets mentioned give me chills.

Edit; Cripes that picture of Lancaster on the floor! Sheesus. And look at those funny dialog options. My gosh.


NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! No more Rattler!

Card Killer strikes again!! Man your pics outside and in Tenpenny Tower really set the right mood for this story! Khajiit really likes the one of Millicent dead (yes morbid, this one knows, but it was artistic!). Ooh! Khajiit just had an idea! You could do a Card Killer tie in with PPB's story!

Another chilling murder! How do we get Officer PP to investigate and put a stop to this fiendish Card Killer?

Officer Barlow needs to get over to Tenpenny Tower to investigate the case! But I don't think they would let a ghoul detective in!

Wow, good point.

Khajiit has no doubt that the Card Killer will strike in less... exclusive places that he would be able to investigate in!

@Renee - all dialogue options when talking to Millicent, are vanilla and they couldn't be more appropriate for the charming killer.

@TheCheshireKhajiit - the idea sounds great but so far no mixing of my characters is in plan.

@Acadian - hardly because PP lives in a different dimension of the Capital Wasteland.

@SubRosa - wow, another vote for PP to come and make order. And as you say, there's no way they'd let a ghouliified police officer inside. He'd probably have to return with a search warrant.

@TheCheshireKhajiit 2 - one of such places is in the story below...

_______

III

The young man could charm many women but Trisha wasn’t one of them. Nobody could charm her because Trisha wasn’t interested in men at all, actually she was repulsed by them.

Eleven months ago she moved in one of dilapidated houses surrounding the Tenpenny Tower. The area was generally peaceful to live in – occasionally ghouls from the nearby Warrington train yard would venture to her place, and sometimes a lone raider would try and kill her but thanks to her hunting rifle for long range combat and crowbar for close combat, Trisha survived just fine. She made a living by selling clutter found in nearby houses to various wastelanders, and in return she bought food, ammunition and cigarettes.

Cory disturbed her peace and ever since he talked to her for the first time, Trisha knew that the young chap was interested in sex only. She hoped that he’ll move on but obviously he didn’t understand that she won’t sleep with him under any circumstances.

“Look kid, if you want to get laid, get your ass over to the Tenpenny Tower, there are plenty of whores but leave me alone, okay?” Trisha was pissed off because Cory obviously didn’t have any intention to leave and was still regarding her with a smile which Trisha immediately recognized as fake.

But what she didn’t know was that the young man whose name wasn’t Cory, chose her as his next victim regardless of whether she’s going to like him or not. Though he indeed preferred to feel them before cutting their throats, being rejected definitely never stopped him in doing what he decided to do. Some people were addicted to whiskey, some to gambling but this young fellow was addicted to killing. It began eight years ago in one of back alleys of New Reno, the post-war sin city, where the sixteen year old orphan, who was forced to sell his body for caps, cut the throat of one of his customers. Overwhelmed by the ecstatic feelings, back alleys of New Reno soon became dangerous for women who wanted to be pleased by young boys.

As Trisha turned his back on him, she heard a strange noise behind and quickly turned around – just in time to avoid a swing from "Cory’s" bloodstained knife.

“I knew you were up to something! Now you’re dead, kid!” yelled Trisha, stepped back and grabbed her crowbar. “You’ll regret the day you were born. I’m not some hapless wastelander!”

Much to "Cory’s" surprise, Trisha was right – she avoided his swings but managed to hit him with her crowbar many times. If he wanted, he could equip his assault rifle but he never finished his victims off with a gun and Trisha was no exception.

Blood on Cory’s face encouraged Trisha and that was her mistake because she fiercely jumped towards him, pulling her right hand back for another blow but in that moment she exposed her neck a little too much and the agile stranger swung with his knife, this time hitting the spot, ending Trisha’s life.

After throwing a card next to her corpse, the card killer decided to go northwest. It rarely happened that he killed as many in as little time and he knew that sooner or later word about him will get around the Capital Wasteland – perhaps Lina’s and Trisha’s bodies won’t be discovered quickly but by now entire Tenpenny Tower knew of Millicent’s demise. He couldn’t stop what he was doing, however. He had tried many times in the past years but no matter wherever he traveled, the lust returned as soon as he saw some pretty woman. And then there were the magical cards - placing them next to his victims felt like a finishing signature on an exquisite painting, a final addition to the work of art. The addiction was getting worse, though – sometimes he could go without killings for weeks but now he rarely held back for more than a few days.

Smiling and thinking of his own future, the card killer headed for the hills.
_______

The lone scavenger

Chatting

Behind her...

The angry scavenger

She fights back

Cutty, the killer's knife

One more on the list

Another card dropped

The signature

Khajiit is watching Bates Motel on Netflix and these stories go right along with the mood! Good job! Liked the idea of this one; that he's getting a little reckless and choosing victims that aren't ideal to satisfy his lust for murder. Keep up the good work!

Trisha got my hopes up for a moment there with her deft crowbar moves. But, alas,

That final 'signature' card shot is chilling.

Hmm, so the CK must be a young guy, if she's calling him "kid," yet he's gotta be over 18 by now, since he was 16 in Reno. We gotta figure it would take awhile to travel from Reno to the D.C. area, and I doubt the Card Killer travels by motorcycle or vertibird, although who knows?

The thing is, in this postwar nuclear war, none of the facilities which Barlow is familiar with are present anymore. No convenient database of fingerprints, no VICAP, no previous records stored away on computer, etc. All the Wastelanders have to alert them on a mass scale would be radio announcements. And we all know about the Enclave, who doesn't respond to current events at all. That leaves GNR.

Question is: will Three Dog be the one to link any sort of news together?

@TheChesireKhajiit - thanks! Not every victim is perfect for the card killer but even something is better than nothing.

@Acadian - Trisha surprised even 'me'. She's a mod-added traveling NPC which are way more tough than default NPCs because they are usually higher-leveled than the PC.

@Renee - you've become quite a detective. It's possible to determine his exact age from the fifth paragraph. To answer your question regarding Three Dog - the DJ will indeed talk about these events but that'll happen in the eleventh story (XI).

_______

IV

He woke up, not having any idea where he is. As he tried to look around to check for surroundings, throbbing pain in the back of his head reminded him of what had happened a day ago. He slowly leaned his head back against the cold steel floor and closed his eyes.

The previous evening he stumbled upon one of numerous drainage chambers which served as some sort of pre-war shelters, there were often radios found down there, linked to nearby broadcast towers. He was careless and didn’t spot a bouquet of falling frag grenades a few steps away from him – probably a trap from even before the war and he was dumb enough to trigger it. He tried to duck (and cover, as the song says) but it was too late – the explosion slammed him against the wall and he lost consciousness.

Now it seemed that the lady luck favored him once again. He couldn’t help but smile at his fortune but even smiling brought him tremendous pain, this time from his ribs.

Probably broke one or two. His vision got blurry at times so he obviously suffered some head damage as well. Not to mention that both legs felt almost totally numb. Only his arms were fine.

If I only had some Med-X. But he didn’t so with great effort and unbearable pain he staggered to his feet. He knew that stimpaks won’t be enough to heal him, not this time, instead he needed a proper doctor. The closest one was Banfield at the Tenpenny Tower and though returning to the scene of crime so soon didn’t sound like a good idea, he had no other choice else his legs would go completely numb and who knows what’d happen inside his head.

The tower wasn’t far but nonetheless it took him four hours to limp there. Yesterday he killed some wasteland creatures on a way through the hills and was glad to discover that new ones didn’t replace them yet.

At the tower it paid off that he dealt with the ghoul situation – once the gate guard saw him limping in the tower’s courtyard, he immediately called for Doctor Banfield and together they accompanied him to the clinic.

“Some stimpaks in an intravenous infusion, a hefty dose of pain killers and you’ll be back on your legs in a few days. No walking allowed, kid, you have to lie as firm as possible. Understood, my young patient?” asked doctor Banfield as the stranger who they known as Chris was placed on the hospital bed.

“Understood, doc. Thanks for your help.”

“Good. Since you took care of those ghouls, I’m sure that mister Tenpenny would allow me to give you a large discount on my services. So that’ll be fifty caps but you can pay me at the end. No complaints, though. Now get some sleep, it’ll do you good,” smiled doctor Banfield and proceeded to prepare necessary medications.

***

Three days later the young man known as Chris was back on his feet again, and was just having a smoke with Susan Lancaster after they had sex in her room on the highest floor of the Tenpenny Tower. They were lying in silence and Susan wondered whether she should tell him that Millicent Wellington was found dead a few days ago…and that by coincidence, Chris disappeared on that same day. But she decided to remain silent. As long as guys paid for ‘her love’, she better not interfere in their affairs.

_______

Blurry

Pre-war shelter

Trying to stand up

Blurry again

Water

Up the ladder

To the Tenpenny Tower

Seeking help

Doctor and his patient

Lovely sight

In Susan's room

Yes Lopov, I watch a lot of detective / crime shows. FBI Files, Forensic Files, American Justice, etc. I usually watch one of these shows after gaming to 'wind down.'

Hmm. He better not mess with Susan. I like that she seems to realize that "Chris" was in the place when Millicent was offed. Card Killer lives on unfortunately, but at least he's not Rattler.

Damn! This guy is like Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees! Blow him up and he still keeps coming! Well st least he's more charming than those two monsters, lol. Sounds like despite her misgivings, Susan is reaping some rewards from "Chris's" company!

Given Chris' life as a serial killer, I can't help but wish that the grenade trap had fully done its job.

But no. Some stimpaks, painkillers, a night with Susan and he'll be bad as new.

Addendum:

a fellow forumite informed me about a mistake at the beginning, instead of "lost his conscience" should be "lost his consciousness". As much as I'd like to edit my reply and correct this annoying mistake, it happens that as soon as I click on the EDIT button and try to change it, all quotation marks and other simple symbols like apostrophes get messed up and I'd need to edit my entire reply. Not sure why this happens. If anyone of mods / admins can fix this, I'd be grateful, otherwise just imagine that there's written consciousness instead of conscience.

I edited that bit you mentioned - looks good now!

Card Killer always makes me think of the chorus to This Song - "I'm a m****ing Card Killer!"

I am thinking the Card Killer lost his conscience a long time ago...

No worries! Khajiit understood what you meant!

@Renee - it was kinda obvious that when he was away from the tower, Millicent got pwned, so at least someone had to notice, I think.

@TheCheshireKhajiit - so far these traps proved to be the most difficult encounter for the card killer in the Capital Wasteland.

@Acadian - thanks for editing my post. "As bad as new" - that's a phrase to remember.

@SubRosa - indeed, so maybe I didn't make a mistake after all. What a song! I'm listening to it as I'm pasting & editing the coming story.

_______

V

Violet was a well-known scavenger in the Capital Wasteland. For two things mostly– the first thing, a minor one was that she owned the yellow army radio headset. There would be nothing special about that piece of pre-war technology if yellow radio headsets weren’t extremely rare, in fact Violet was the only known owner of one such item. She found it together with her friend Sonora Cruz many years ago as they were exploring a ghoul-infested pre-war military base. Each of them wanted it but they agreed that whoever kills more ghouls, gets the headset. Since Violet won the contest, it belonged to her. They remained good friends with Sonora Cruz who was by now the leader of the regulators in the Capital Wasteland.

The second thing for which Violet was known, and a major one, was that she was the only scavenger known to tame a ferocious yao-guai. She saved a life of a baby yao-guai as it was about to drown and since then the two became inseparable. Not only was her pet whom she named Willy, a helpful guardian in dangerous wastes, he was also her best friend.

One morning in October 2277 she stopped by Four-Eyed Patrick, another scavenger who inhabited one of ruined houses west of Fort Independence.

“Hey four eyes, got some missiles for sale? Running out of ‘em,” asked Violet, petting her favorite weapon - the old missile launcher, which she found buried under some rubble pile close to Fort Constantine way up to the north.

“Sure, Violet, sure, just lemme find ‘em,” Four-Eyed Patrick promptly went to rummage for them in the only solid dresser in the ruined house which no longer served its pre-war purpose, instead it was Four Eyed Patrick’s storage of various clutter.

“I see you got some company for the night,” remarked Violet and nodded in the direction of the sleeping young man. Four-Eyed Patrick had some free beds inside (while it was in fact outside because the house no longer had a roof) and gladly allowed wastelanders to sleep on them.

“Ay, some kid from the west,” nodded Four-Eyed Patrick as he was taking missiles from the dresser. “Nice fella. He gave me a ciggie. I’d still prefer if it was a gal, though. A gal that wouldn’t mind that I’m a little bit dirty, he he he.”

“I heard you, Pat” said the young man and raised his head, making Pat blush and Violet laugh.

Cute kid, thought Violet as he was smiling at her, then she started counting Pat’s missiles.

A few minutes later Violet and Willy left Four-Eyed Patrick’s house and headed west.

“Is she a friend of yours?” asked the kid and handed Pat a cigarette who gladly accepted.

“Sure, that’s Violet. And her teddy bear Willy, the only tamed yao-guai in the entire Capital Wasteland, kid! Imagine that? She’s a legend among scavengers. You’ll often meet her on your travels if you intend to stay here in the Capital Wasteland for a while, kid.”

“I doubt it.”

“Eh? You plannin’ to leave soon?”

“No.”

“Well then I was right – you’ll meet Violet and Willy often on your travels, they are drifters, never staying in one place for long.”

“I doubt it.”

“Eh? I don’t get it.” Four-Eyed Patrick was confused.

“Don’t bother,” smiled the kid and stood up. “Here, take one more cig. Thanks for the free bed. See you, Pat.”

“See you, kid.” Four-Eyed Patrick gladly took another ciggie and questions about why the kid wouldn’t often meet Violet and Willy, were already forgotten.

***

But what the kid said, was true. Not he, not anyone else would ever meet Violet and Willy again, at least not alive. Instead of Willy, Violet slept with the card depicting death at her side. But not before the kid whom she found cute earlier this morning, would torture her in an abandoned trailer just a distance west of Four-Eyed Patrick’s house. And why? Because he found it exciting.
_______

In company of Four-Eyed Patrick and his mutt

Violet & Willy

Showtime!

Willy's end (the yao-guai was actually hit by one of Violet's missiles, directed at the card killer)

Disarmed

Subdued

Helpless

Dead

Poor Violet.

What she said ^

If the card killer is outside the jurisdiction of Officer PP, can we get Persephone to track the vile fiend and eat him?

Loviatar does the eating. Persephone would just 'disarm' him.

*slaps forehead* Of course you're right! Either would doubtless do a great job. A bonus for inflicting extra pain. Hee!

How awful! Not only did she suffer the horror of realizing she blew up her best friend and guardian, but then the terrible end she met! Khajiit is sure Violet's spirit screams for retribution! Will anyone answer the call? Until then, The Card Killer roams the wastes, looking for the next unfortunate soul.

The part when it says "I see you got some company for the night," again I got chills.

Whoa, look at that bear fly.

Cripes. Yeah, the Card Killer must be stopped.

@SubRosa - indeed.

@Acadian - the card killer probably wouldn't stand a chance in a close combat against Persephone or Loviatar, but fortunately for him they are in other versions of the same wasteland.

@TheCheshireKhajiit - many more unfortunate will fall...

@Renee - the yao-guai was partly wounded from the card killer because he shot it with his assault rifle but in the end it was Violet who hit it fatally instead of the card killer.

_______

The Interlude I

While many water beggars preferred to squat outside major towns where a probability of getting some dirty or purified water was the highest, Ben Canning preferred to beg for water in the middle of the wastes. He assumed that a chance for travelers to have some water was higher in the middle of nowhere - and why?

Because when travelers saw towns ahead, they could drink all their water, knowing they’ll be able to buy fresh water in towns, while those in the middle of the wastes had to be more careful and if they were kind-hearted, they could part with a bottle or two and give it to him.

Unfortunately for Ben Canning, the guy in black leather jacket, who just passed him, had no water or at least he didn’t want to give him any. The guy just dismissed him with his hand and walked on.

“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Ben Canning yelled at him. “Can you at least shoot me in the head before you leave? I’m out of ammo or I’d do it myself.” While the saying was meant as a joke which Ben often told wasteland cheapskates, the guy in leather jacket obviously took it for real as he readied his assault rifle.

“Hey, hey, kid, I was just jok…”

But it was too late. The deafening sound of rapidly fired bullets fulfilled Ben’s joking wish.

The guy in leather jacket walked on. No card was left behind this time.
_______

Ben Canning

Wish fulfilled

He won't joke again...

Early riser

Wow, not even worth a card, lol

The lesson here is choose your words carefully and mean what you say.

You know you are old when you no longer get carded at the door...

Poor Ben, met the wrong man at the wrong time. Still, it could have been worse. He could have been eaten by a radscrorpion or super mutant.

Right. Exactly my sentiments as well.

If we think about it though, this sort of makes some sense in a way. Because the Card Killer is leaving a trail wherever he goes. Each card is a clue to figure out where he's been. He can't leave cards everywhere, lest some clever chap or gal anticipate where the guy's next possible place of rest could be.

Yeah, I watch too many crime shows, ha ha.

This is true. Though Khajiit got the distinct impression it was more about exterminating a pest than getting his jollies, lol

The Card Killer did not leave a card because Ben Canning is not a woman, and he did not have sex with Ben first. The CK is a serial killer, and seducing and killing women is his M.O. Any killing outside of that is incidental, not part of who and what he is. Hence no card.

Exactly. This is the only reason why the card wasn't left at Ben's corpse.

@TheCheshireKhajiit - indeed, Ben didn't deserve a card.

@Acadian - the card killer didn't intend to kill Ben Canning at first and because I encountered this NPC for the first time, I didn't know what he was going to say. But in the end our antihero couldn't refuse such an offer.

@SubRosa - I agree, Ben Canning could also be driver over by floozy Janet on her motorcycle.

@Renee - the card killer doesn't care too much where to leave cards because he figures that in the broad wastes it's next to impossible to follow him.

_______

VI

What was the best thing about raider women? They were wild lovers because they were on drugs most of the time.

What was the worst thing about raider women? It was hard getting close to them because they usually shoot on sight unless you were one of them.

But the card killer had a plan how to get to one of their camps, located on the overpass west of Springvale. He observed as some man, clad in reinforced combat armor, killed many raiders from that camp and scared others good enough that they went hiding in their trailers and makeshift camps.

The man in combat armor obviously didn’t have any interest in pursuing the rest, so he left the overpass behind, and that was when the card killer attacked him from behind with the assault rifle. He killed the man in combat armor, then carried his lifeless body to the raider-infested overpass. He had assumed that raiders saw their shootout and he was correct – as he approached the raiders, none of them shot at him.

He threw the corpse of the man in combat armor in front of all surviving raiders to see, then crossed his arms, waiting for their reaction.

“What do you want, asshole?” asked one of the raiders.

“One of your girls,” curtly said the stranger. “For some fun.”

“With pleasure,” seductively said Crazy Anna and stepped up front. “With pleasure, kid. That guy…” she spat on the corpse of the man in combat armor,”…killed my boyfriend. Perhaps you can become my new one, ha ha ha! I’m all yours.”

“Do what you gotta do, then leave,” said the raider who called the card killer “asshole”. “Understood?”

“Understood,” nodded Crazy Anna’s “new boyfriend” and led her behind some piled up cars. As Anna already wetted her lips, ready to show the stranger what she was the best at, he handed her the shotgun and some shells.

“What’s that for?” she asked, confused.

“Five hundred caps for you if you help me take down the rest of your gang,” proposed the stranger.

“What? Well…wow…the offer is very, very tempting. But why?”

“No questions asked and you get six hundred caps. And we still have sex once we bring your friends down. What do you say?”

“I say, let’s rumble, kiddo!” yelled Crazy Anna and through to her name, she went on a killing spree against her former friends.

That was another good thing about raiders – offer them some fake caps or some other fine reward and they’ll turn their back on their friends without a second thought.

The stranger didn’t even need to fire a single shot, Crazy Anna dealt with all of them. When it was done, he kept half of his promise – they had wild sex on the overpass but instead of six hundred caps Anna got a deep cut over her throat and a card next to her body.
_______

The overpass

Following the man in combat armor

Fire!

The trophy

Entry fee

One of the raiders

Another one of the raiders

Crazy Anna

"Yes, Megaton is that town over there."

Flirting

"You want me to kill our guys?"

Crazy Anna at work

The kid doesn't even need to shoot

Anna sees a knife and protects what's the most important to her

The card

P.S. The following Friday there won't be a new story because I'll be on holidays abroad.

Yay!!!! Khajiit was wondering when you'd get to the Raiders! Boy, CK sure did take a risk approaching that camp like that! Raiders are so unpredictable! One of the best things for CK on this kill is that no one will miss the Raider chick!
Some questions:
How did you get the Raiders to be non hostile?

Where did the "man in combat armor" come from? Was he a random encounter or part of a mod?

How did you get Anna to turn against her clan? Console commands?

Quite creative, the way in which CK got the 'trust' of the camp, then co-opted his victim to do his dirty work before killing her.

The CK sure has nerve, taking on not only Raider chicks, but even talking them into wiping out their 'friends'!

He is a clever one, for sure.

On one of my crime shows, the death of a baddie is still a murder, and they would investigate this murder with as much fervor as they would for a more decent citizen. So who is on the CK's trail, I wonder? I think he WANTS somebody to be on his trail, otherwise, why even bother leaving cards? He wants to be known.

And that is what I shall say to reaction. I know Lopov has already written all the Card Killer tales, though I don't know what happens, because I specifically told him NO spoilers! But I bet there's eventually going to be a story in which we get the perspective of someone following the kid's trail. That is my prediction, folks.

@TheCheshireKhajiit - to make raiders non-hostile, I temporarily added the card killer to the raider faction. The command is "player.addtofaction [faction id] 1". As soon as he "recruited" Crazy Anna thanks to the mod Companion Share and Recruit Mod, she was added to his (player) faction and as such raiders became hostile. The man in combat armor is from the mod Traveling NPCs, his name was Wasteland Avenger and he had a dog Teddy who was killed by the raiders. From what I understand, these names are a reference to some TV show.

@Acadian - sometimes plain killin' gets boring for the killer and he has to be more creative.

@SubRosa - it just shows how easy are raiders turned against their friends.

@Renee - you are right about some clues, wrong about some others.

_______

VII

“You haven’t even told me your name yet,” Lucy West said to the young man she had just made love to. They were lying in her bed in the upper floor of her Megaton shack, her head resting on the stranger’s chest.

He was silent for a few seconds, then said one word only: ”Cory:”

“Cory what?” asked Lucy and looked into the stranger’s blue eyes with a smile.

“Cory Costner.” He returned the smile.

They met a few hours ago in Moriarty’s Saloon. Cory was sitting at the bar while Lucy was at her table and they kept glancing at each other, smiling as their eyes would meet. Eventually Cory approached her but as Lucy introduced herself, he told her that she can call him however she likes. Though Lucy considered his answer odd at first, the young man turned out to be a good company and he promised to deliver a letter to her family in Arefu, because it’s been months since she heard of them for the last time.

When asked if he’ll be paid, Lucy said that she doesn’t have any caps but that her father would definitely reward him. He told her that should be enough but in return asked her for a place to sleep. As it turned out, Lucy had a spare bed in her shack which belonged to her brother Ian if he came to visit, but in the end it turned out that another bed wasn’t necessary – Lucy and the stranger shared the same one.

“Where do you come from, Cory Costner" she asked and once again looked in his eyes. She loved his eyes and his smile, there was no way she could get bored of either.

“From one place far to the west.”

“You’re one mysterious fellow, you know that?” smiled Lucy.

“Perhaps.” This time he didn’t smile and for a second Lucy found his blue eyes very cold and calculating.

“What about…?” But before Lucy could finish her question, Cory interrupted her: “What about you tell me more about your family? About Arefu? I want to know more about people I’m supposed to find and the place I’m supposed to visit? Should I be on the lookout for something?”

Lucy West gladly told him about his parents and her little brother Ian, then told him more about her birthplace. Afterwards they made love again and once it was over, Cory wanted to lit a cigarette.

“Sorry, Cory! My house – my rules, which means no smoking inside the house.”

“Sure.” Cory put on his leather jacket, camo pants and as he was tying his black boots, he said: “I’ll be back soon, don’t get dressed yet.” He winked at Lucy, then went out.

Lucy West was in seventh heaven and hoped that Cory would stay with her not just for this night. He was so special and until this day she didn’t believe in love at first sight but now it seemed she was proved wrong.

Outside of her shack the stranger whose name wasn’t Cory, nor was his surname Costner, in fact he never had a known surname, because he was an orphan, lit a cigarette. He had some plans with Lucy West and surprisingly, killing her was not one of them.
_______

Friendly and well-mannered stranger comes to Megaton

Never seen before

Lucy West

Great guy

"Let's eat."

Oh good, Lucy is not on his list. That's good. I like her a lot.

That's weird though. I wonder why she's not on his list. Probably because he plans to spend more time in Megaton.

Oohhoohoo! The CK is making plans! This should be interesting! Khajiit is guessing that while Lucy may not be murdered, her life will be ruined.

Wow, this really raises some questions! Whatever CK has planned regarding Lucy, I can't believe it will be for the good.

Methinks that the CK has plans for either Aerfu or Megaton, or both, and he is keeping Lucy alive until those plans reach fruition.