Randy Terri's Arc

Chapter 1 of 11

Randy stood at the edge of his property where the old billboard sat, the same rusted Vault-Tec sign that had been there since before he bought the land. Someone had painted fresh coordinates across the faded mascot's chest. The numbers were precise, written small and tight like whoever put them there wanted them hidden in plain sight. He pulled the camera from his jacket and photographed the coordinates twice. The lens was cracked but it still worked. The stickers on the body reminded him where he'd found it — some trader's abandoned pack near the eastern fields. He took a third shot, closer this time, making sure the numbers came through clear. From the observation booth near his main grow field, Randy could watch the billboard without being seen through the one-way glass. He'd built it last year when the yields started climbing and he needed a way to monitor the property without standing in the open. Now it gave him something better — a place to sit and think about who else knew the Vault was there and what they wanted with it. The coordinates pointed somewhere specific. Randy copied them into his notebook and locked the camera in the booth's cabinet. Whatever was buried at those numbers, someone had gone to the trouble of hiding the location on his land, which meant they knew more about the Vault than they should. That changed things.