Justified Murder
The Rise & Fall of John Henry Eden

The concept of a mercenary for hire has been done to death. But, it's a way to live. Unfortunately in my case it's the only way to live, because pulling a trigger and drinking hooch is the only thing I'm good at. The exact same could be said for my partner, Barry; the sixty year old, somehow as fit as me, crazy bastard. He took care of most of the drinking, while I took care of all of the trigger pulling.

But what could I do about it? The man raised me like one his own. He was like my second dad. I always figured that I owed the man a lifetime of booze, for a childhood and advlthood of friendship. The reason I say lifetime, is because for as long as I remember he's used me for any kind of personal gang. I stole for him, I participated in just about anything he wanted me to. I idolized Barry. I loved him.

He loved me back, too. Sometimes he even made my own dad jealous. I'm a spitting image of my own father. I was born with the same, wavy black hair a his. I was even the same complexity, and I somehow managed to get paler with him. If a dentist put our X-Rays up side by side, he probably would mistake them for the same mouth. By the time I reached twenty-one, we were even still built the same, athletic build. Barry was always jealous, because he's the kind of buff guy, but with more to love. I was given the same name as my dad, and he was given the same name as his dad. In fact, I'm the fifth in a long line of Geofry's.

Barry and I sat in the back of a rickety flat-bed truck, reminiscing about our childhood and life. We planned for the future after we finished our current job. It was an assassination of some cruel ruler of a portion of the United States. The two of us were enjoying the winnings of a game of poker up in Canada, our homeland, when we were met by a desperate kind of man.

The guy told us he lost his family, and didn't know if they were alive. He said he was fleeing the D.C. area in the States, so some John Henry Eden couldn't take his wife and kid away. He explained how John Henry Eden was the president of the United States, but that so far his reign was only in the Washington area. But he also mentioned that it was quickly growing.

President John Henry Eden would take people away that were deemed unworthy of living. Or, as the desperate man put it, anyone that wasn't apart of the government, or "Enclave". Just as the guy crossed the border, The Enclave come, and take them all prisoner. The man said he was thrown into some tent, but was separated from his wife and kid. When he finally managed to get out of the tent, he learned he was just left for dead, and that his family was taken away in a Vertibird, or helicopter or whatever.

Anyways, the desperate guy led us back to the border, where some sort of resistance was waiting with a massive truck that transported refugees outside of the States. The resistance car runner told us if he could rid the world of the president, then they'd pay us whatever we wanted. So, Barry and I agreed without hesitation. The only thing that worried us was, as we walked past the refugees, a sickly looking woman said, "Don't drink the water".

The truck his a few bumps, and then came to a stop. Barry and I looked over the driver, and saw that we came up to a very makeshift gate made of cars, and other scraps of metal. There was a woman sitting at a wooden base on the top, sporting a .300 sniper rifle. The truck driver honked three times, paused, then honked again. The woman at the top of the gate put her fist in the air, then brought it down, then back up, then down.

The large pieces of put-together scrap suddenly split in two, then opened wide revealing a road, and a decent sized town. As we drove through the gates, a green sign that said "Old Olney Mayor's Office" caught my eye. It had an arrow pointing in the direction of the office. We turned in that direction. The truck came to a stop right in front of a very official looking building. The driver got out, and patted the side of the truck.

"Out, out. Ya'll get off here." The Driver said, as he walked to a metal plate on the ground. Barry and I jumped out of the truck, and accompanied the driver.

"Are we going into the Office?" Barry asked, "That's kind, I don't know, obvious don't you think?"

The driver chuckled, "No, man, you need to get your mind in the gutter." He stomped his foot down on the metal plate, then stepped off onto the concrete. The metal plate slid underneath the concreted, and it revealed a hole in the ground, with a door going underground.

"Oh, well..." Barry said, embarrassed.

"Just follow the red doors. Kidd and Wint will be down there. Knock first, they don't like being interrupted in the middle of planning. I'm sure that you two could make some sort of agreement with the two leaders." The driver said.

I spoke this time, "So you don't even know if they'd want to hire us?" I threw my arms in the air, "You better hope you didn't waste our time!"

"Just get in the hole." The driver said, "By the way, name's Driver."

"Huh!" Barry said, "It's fitting" He looked at me, "What do you say, kid, do we go in?"

I shrugged, and motioned for him to jump down the hole. He got down on his knees, and jumped down while keeping his hands on the edge. With a loud grunt, he landed. I followed by just jumping down, but I stumble when my feet hit. I grumbled, "Getting old."

Barry opened the door, and held his arm to his stomach, pointing to the door. He was trying to nicely tell me "Ladies first". As I walked through, I swatted him on the side of the head, and he just smiled a toothy smile, followed by a few quick ha's. We walked down a few hallways, and walked through every red door like Driver had told us to. Through the last red door, there was a giant metal gate, with all kind of gears and knobs exposed.

I shrugged, and knocked three powerful hits into the door. The bangs echoed through the sewer halls. In a second, the door opened, and two Ghouls stood crossing their arms. One's head was cocked, and the other was staring straight on.

"Looks like we've got some newbies, Kidd."

"I'd say so, Wint." Kidd said, "Can we help you two fine gentlemen?"

I stuttered, "Uh, Driver brought us from the border. He offered us a job, promised riches, of sorts."

The two Ghouls stood still, and showed no emotion. They just motionlessly spoke back, speaking what the other thought. They said everything with straight faces. They were like zombies, no pun intended.

Wint laughed, "Driver told you two to come down?"

Kidd finished, "He picked you two to try and kill El Presidente, did he?"

Wint continued the sentence, "Well I guess that's fine. We don't pay in advance."

Kidd went on, "Aye, we don't. Only pay when the job's finished. We pay good, too. We'll lightly supply the two of you."

Wint continued, "Oh, so good. Hell, we'll even tell you where to start."

Finally, Kidd finished, "What do you two say?"

Barry looked at me. And I looked at Barry. With both of us smiling, we said in unison, "Sound's like a [censored] deal."

Kidd and Wint both turned around, and threw a large piece of paper down on a wooden table. They started to explain a government building where John Henry Eden was holed up. It was called "Raven Rock", but the two had no clue where it was located. All they knew what that it was in the D.C. area. They went on to tell Barry and I that, our best best to find the place was to go to the local radio show host, and try to find where The Presidents radio show signal was coming from.

Apparently, John Eden played a loop of speeches, and motivational things about how America would be strong again. They came to a conclusion that the radio signal was coming straight from Raven Rock, but they weren't quite sure yet. Then that's where Barry an I came in: to find Raven Rock, then form a war party with the Resistance, then attack and kill the President.

It was, in theory simple. Only, of course, in theory.

I was going to say that I liked it and ask what was up with the comedy bits. Then I saw your name.

I liked it.

Thanks, MrSmileySmile.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________


We knew where we had to go next, and that was to the GNR Radio Station somewhere in the D.C. Ruins. Kidd had told Barry and I that stuck out above the rooftops, but we had to look from outside the ruins to see it properly. The Washington Monument was one of the only other buildings that stood taller than the station. Wint went on to explain what the building looked like exactly, because he didn't have any pictures.

They let us listen to one broadcast from the Disc Jockey; Three-Dog. They told us he would be glad to help us take down the President. I figured as much, when Three-Dog went on to explain "The Good Fight", which I figured was just exactly what the rebellion wanted. They all wanted an American Revolution, and me and Barry were just fine with it. As long as we got paid.

Driver took us above ground, and was leading us to an old office building that served as the Armory for the Rebellion.

"What did Kidd and Wint offer the two of you?" Driver asked, as we walked down the straight away to the office building.

Barry replied sarcastically, "Exactly what you offered us. You're lucky!"

"Lucky about what? That I don't have to waste a bullet on you?!" Driver laughed.

Barry shared the laugh, "We've got a damn smart ass with us, Geofry!"

"Yeah, well he serves as a better comic relief than you, Barry." I laughed with the two of them.

The three of us came up to the front door of the building, and Driver opened it for Barry and I. He escorted us in, and down a few halls, into a medium sized room with a few cubicles against the wall.

"We've got these three load outs for the people we hire. Did Kidd and Wint tell you our policy on arming people?" Driver asked.

I replied, "Yeah they covered it. We understand, I'd probably be the same about it."

"All right, good." Driver pointed to a cubicle against the left wall, "Go in there, and you'll find Combat Armor. It's the typical, puke green Army stuff. Nothing too fun." Driver walked up to the cubicle in the middle, "This one's got a little more of a surprise in it, it's Metal Armor. It's not as easy to move in, but it'll deflect a bullet better. And finally," Driver went to the last cubicle, "It's Recon Armor. The little brother to Power Armor. It's a little less bullet protective compared to Combat Armor, but you'll be running faster."

"That was quite the mouthful," Barry said to Driver. He looked at me, "Kid, what are you picking?"

I raised an eyebrow, "I think I'll go with the Metal Armor. I like the sounds of it. Bad ass, y'know?"

Barry let out three ha's, "Whatever floats your boat, kid. I'll take that Combat Armor."

"Look guys," Driver said, "I don't care what you'll pick. Just go and change. I'll take you to the weapons when you're done."

The metal armor fit me like a charm. It was snug, and the inside of it was padded. The shoulders and knees were smooth, and the rest was more rough. There was a middle layer of thick leather. The helmet was more padded then the body armor, and the Visor gave everything a blueish tint.

Barry didn't fit into the combat armor that well. He was too big for the sets they had. The armored parts came out more than they should have, and the layer of fabric was stretched a tiny bit. He also decided to not go with the helmet, because it didn't fit at all. Regardless, he kept the armor.

"You're lookin' fine, old man." I said to Barry. He have me the death stare.

"C'mon." Driver said to Barry and I, "I'll take you both to the weapons. You're each getting one assault rifle. We can't afford to give you anything fancy, so they're going to be pretty old weaponry."

"As long as they kill." Barry replied.

Driver took us to another room, and had us wait outside while he grabbed out weapons. After about four minutes, he came out with a duffel bag. He dropped it on the ground, and let it fall open. There were two of the same guns, and I had no idea what they were. I only recognized the 10mm Pistols, and the ammo clips.

"Okay, I lied. You both get pistols, too." Driver said, taking them out of the bag and handing them to Barry and I. We holstered them. "But these two rifles are StG 44's. They're German guns, and they're very old. Expect jamming, and unreliability. Honestly I'd switch out as soon as possible."

I took the gun from Driver, along with the extra ammo, "Well, it's something, Thanks."

"I could make a better gun then this piece of crap." Barry grumbled to himself, as he looked down the guns sight. "Oh well, you can't go wrong with iron sights."

Our escort, Driver, took us out of the building and to the same truck we were brought in on. He was carrying a bag the whole way there, then threw it in the back of the truck. He slapped the back of the truck, then told Barry and I to get in.

"I'm driving you two to the Ruins. You'll get there much faster, and efficiently. Have a fun ride, and hope it doesn't rain."