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From The Personal Recollection Of Leanne Walker

Apparently, it was my ex-enemy's turn for guard duty.

With poor lighting and my stealth field for cover, I simply watched Butch DeLoria as he paced up and down the corridor.  Like everybody else I'd met or seen in Vault 101 so far, he was thinner and paler than I recalled.  But otherwise, he seemed pretty much the same.  More the same than anybody else I'd seen so far, that was for sure.

No matter what the stakes, guard duty gets boring when nothing seems to happen, and Butch was ... I don't know if it was true posturing, since he thought he was alone.  Maybe it was practice posturing.  Out came his comb to carefully tidy his hair.  That went back in its pocket, and out came his trusty switchblade.  Some flourishes and practice combat swipes and poses with that, accompanied by such classic mutterings as "Hyah!!" and "Tunnel Snakes Rule!"

Then he pulled the pistol out of his jacket, standard Vault-Tec issue 10mm from the look.  Someone gave Butch a real gun?  I'll admit to concern, but then recalled he'd used my BB gun quite well, to rescue his mom, despite never having seen it before.  At least he kept the safety on while fiddling about, trying various silly poses (two-handed with pistol, pistol-and-switchblade-in-different-hands, sundry attempts at 'quick-draws', etc., etc.), before trying to figure places to carry each weapon.

Thankfully, he didn't try sticking the pistol down the front of his Vaultsuit.  He'd learned that much,  perhaps gotten some advice.

One last dramatic flourish, draw and pose; followed by a muttered, "Yeaahhh!  Just keep walking, sucker!"  A satisfied smile as Butch brought the pistol to a barrel-up position by his right ear.  Yeah, I remembered THAT scene - Lieutenant Creswell, in Episode #14 of 'Tales From The Front'.

Reality looked in.  I dropped stealth, pretty much toe-to-toe with Butch.  Smiling.  "Hi, Butch."

It was beautiful.  He literally jumped a foot in the air and two feet back, uttering "GAAHHH!!!!" with great feeling, and noisily dropping his pistol.

"*Stutter* ... You!"  Good old Butch, never at a loss for words.  I recalled the confrontations we'd had through the years.  Unpleasant at the time but, compared with some of what I'd faced since, almost fond memories now.

"Me.  Here to see Amata."

He stuttered some more, then groped for his dropped pistol and shoved it inside his jacket.  "You've come to help?  Good.  I've gotta get out of this place.  Damnit, I'm a BARBER, not a stylist, why can't they accept that?  I can't take it any more!"

I had to ask.  "What would you do outside, Butch?"

"Start my own gang, of course.  The biggest baddest gang in the Wastes.  I'd even let you join."

Wow.  A rapid series of mental images ran through my head, all involving him facing off against people, places and things I'd found out there.  Most of those imaginings ended quickly and very very badly for him.  "Eh? ... I'm already a member of the Tunnel Snakes.  Remember?  You gave me your jacket and everything."

A grudging nod from him.  "... Yeah, there is that.  But ... y'know?  I think getting outside, I'd better make a new start, and the Tunnel Snakes ....  they're old news."

By Butch standards, that was almost insightful.  He was a bully and a loudmouth and dumber than a Brahmin, but I had to allow him some credit.

"I appreciate the thought, Butch, but I have my own ... gang these days.  Anyhow, can you take me to Amata ...?"

******

The 'rebels' had barricaded themselves into an area around the Clinic, a very familiar place to me.  It was surprising to see that former classmates were not the only people in evidence there - some oldsters, Mrs Palmer for one, were also around.  Then again, Jonas had been her grandson.

I got plenty of looks, that's for sure, not all of which were hostile.  The prodigal daughter returning, for one, and she was both healthy-looking AND in high-tech armor, which raised serious questions about what was really outside the door.

Then there was Amata.  Paler and thinner, as seemed the norm here.  But the sincerity of her welcome could not be denied - she charged at me out of a side-room, grabbing both of my hands in hers and exclaiming, "You CAME! I was beginning to wonder ....  Thank goodness you are here, Leanne!"

I squeezed her hands in response, and gave her my best smile.  "I came as soon as I could, Amata.  Gotten most of the story since I arrived.  Your father?"

"We can't understand why he is doing this, Leanne.  We found out that the Vault has been opened in the past, and that we once had regular contact with Outside, but it's ... it's like he wants to pretend it never happened."

"The contact, I'm not surprised about.  Seen things, there's lots of old 101 tech out in the Wastes.  Plus there's some very VERY nasty things about the Vault-Tec corporation I've learned.  You have no idea how bad - they were a bunch of sadistic loons ....."

Amata was shocked at that last.  Vault-Tec had always been ... a symbol to us 101ers, the heroic corporation who built the Vault that saved our ancestors from The War and that kept us alive.  Now here I was ....

".... What do we do, Lee?"

"First, we talk ...."

******

I believe that one of the commonest human behaviours is spontaneously doing 'weird/funny stuff' (imitations, dancing, lip-synching, general goofing around, etc.) whenever we honestly think we are unwatched and unheard.  Butch is no exception to this.