Andy Cerberus's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Andy left the workbench before dawn and cut across the yard to find Marcus. The hatch descent was set for tomorrow, but a message had come in overnight through one of Andy's underground contacts. He carried it folded in his jacket pocket and rehearsed the pitch as he walked. Marcus would not like paying for four guards when two had been the plan. Andy would offer to cover the gear himself. He found Marcus outside the equipment shop, checking a manifest against a stack of crates. Andy handed him the folded note. "Raider band moving north. Twenty to thirty guns. They'll pass the yard inside two days." Marcus read it twice, then looked up. "Source?" "One I trust. He was right about the runner last week." Marcus folded the note and slid it into his own pocket. "Two extra guards won't hold that." "Four," Andy said. "And I'll supply the rifles, ammunition, and vests out of my own stock. Red Hills doesn't need to see the invoice." Marcus studied him. He understood what Andy was buying. Not just wall coverage. A vote of confidence before the hatch opened. "Draw from the armory," Marcus said. "Achilles will draft the rotation. You want your name on the hiring, be there when they sign on." Achilles Greenburn came out of the armory with a clipboard and a short list already started. He was orange and black under a brown safari hat, tool kit on his belt, and he did not waste time on greeting. "Four bodies," he said. "I have two locals who can hold a rifle. I need two more by noon." Andy nodded. "I know a tuxedo named Donald Draper. Vault-Tec security jacket, carries a Colt. He's steady. I'll bring him." Achilles wrote the name down. "The fourth?" "Let Donovan pick," Andy said. "He knows who won't run." Inside the armory, the locker stood open. Rifles racked on the left, ammunition boxes stacked by caliber on the right. Donovan O'Niel was already there, headphones around his neck, sorting magazines onto the salvage bench. He was the Ranger tech who had been working the clinic perimeter with Zelda's crew. He looked up when Andy came in. "Oh man, you heard too. Twenty-plus, moving fast. Hell if I know why they picked this week, but that tends to get around." He tossed Andy a loaded magazine. "I've got a shooter from my old unit who owes me a favor. She's in." By midday all four had signed. Draper took the north corner. Donovan's shooter took the tower. Achilles set the rotation and walked the fence line himself. Andy stood by the gate and watched the yard tighten around him. The raiders had not arrived. The hatch was still scheduled for tomorrow. He had bought the wall he needed. He had also told Marcus, without saying it, that whatever came out of the vault would be worth defending.