A Promise To Keep

Trapper Walsh Series

Part 9 here: https://steemit.com/rpg/@olmech/vengeance

Baseball. I had heard of this game from Pops. I guess I had forgotten what the sport must have meant to the Commonwealth. Diamond City was actually formed in the old ruins of Fenway Park which had been home to the beloved Red Sox. No game had been played here for over two hundred years but the residents of the city kept all the stories and legends alive generation after generation. One need only sit and talk to these people for a short time to learn everything about baseball and the rich history of the city. It was hard for me to imagine a life so free of hardship that people could invest their time in games or entertainment. It was after all that generation that allowed the governments of the world to bring humanity to near extinction. They had been a lazy, pampered people that chose the easy way out instead of doing what was necessary to secure the future for the following generations. They had been above making sacrifices thinking that their government was justified in seizing resources that belonged to the whole world. They had bought into the propaganda being spoon fed to them by their politicians. This arrogance not only doomed their own future, but every generation thereafter. Baseball...what foolishness indeed!

I had made my way back to the market but was not familiar with where this home plate was. Two children were running around and as they approached me I grabbed one by the arm and said,

"Whoa there! I am sorry to interrupt your playing, but I need some help. I am looking for a residence near something called home plate."

"Gee mister, everyone knows where that is. Home Plate IS the residence. It is the grandest place in the whole city but nobody lives there" said the boy.

"Somebody lives there now" I said while holding up the key.

The two children just stared at the key with their mouths open for what seemed an eternity.

"Well...will you help me?" I finally asked.

"Oh sure mister...but would you please let us inside to look around? We have never seen it from the inside."

"Let me get settled in and I would be more than happy to have you two over later on to look it over all you like."

The children's eyes got as big as plates.

"Follow us mister!"

The children led me around the noodle stand to a red door. I had walked by this door many times while trading with the vendors here but had never known what it was. I twisted the key in the lock while pushing the door open. The children immediately tried to work by me on both sides. I grabbed them by the arms, picked them up and turned them around.

"Not so fast there! We had a deal remember? I have some things I need to do right now, but come back tomorrow evening and I will let you in."

"Okay mister...tomorrow evening. Don't you forget now...you promised!"

"I am a man of my word.I promise."

The children turned away to resume whatever running ritual they had been performing before I met them. I walked inside the door closing it and locking it behind me. I quickly found the light switch and what I saw when I turned around was simply breathtaking. To my right was a big bed surrounded by shelves and storage adorned with all kinds of decorations. To my left were stairs. One set went down and the other went up. On the other side of the stairs was a small kitchen area. Making a turn to the left by the kitchen revealed a door. On the other side of the door was a fully equipped bathroom with running water and yet another door. This door led to a complete workshop completely stocked with a treasure trove of parts and gadgets neatly organized in bins. Going downstairs, I found yet another kitchen which was bigger than the one upstairs. There were two bunk beds with privacy curtains...each with its own storage and decorations. There was a small living area with a nice couch and a television. Behind the couch was a desk complete with a working computer and a box of holotapes. A large metal door was in the right corner of the room. I opened it finding a large room full of mutfruit, carrot, tato and corn planters under grow lamps and automatic irrigation. There was a large water pump feeding a purifier. Beside this was an old fusion generator providing the power. This room alone was worth 12,000 caps! This was as self sufficient a home as what I had in the Glowing Sea.

I went back upstairs to the main floor and then on up to the second floor. Here I found two more bunk beds and another set of stairs leading to a third floor. This place was huge! Going up to the third floor I found two more bunk beds and a ladder leading to a roof hatch. I climbed the ladder and opened the hatch, then climbed on through the opening. I was standing in an old travel trailer that had somehow been mounted atop the home. It had a porch overlooking the market area of the city complete with umbrellas, a table and two chairs. I went back down to the main floor and sat down. This whole place was full of pre-war photographs, paintings and baseball memorabilia. Whoever had lived here before must have spent a small fortune acquiring all of these things.

I had originally planned to meet with the vendors in the morning to buy their promise to inform me if any of the missing items from home managed to turn up at their shops. I now began to consider that one or more of them had been the leak leading the Raiders to me in the first place. Letting them know I was here might not be such a good idea. The shops had all been closed when I arrived, so none of the vendors were wise to my plan yet. I could see the whole market area from the roof of my home except for Becky Fallon's place. I had an excellent view of Arturo and Myrna though so I decided to be up on the roof before the market opened at eight the next morning. I had planned to spend every cap I had to flush this person out if need be, but the 12,000 caps I had spent for this place might be all that was required. Maybe things would work out for me after all. It was now nearly midnight and I decided that I would try the shower in the bathroom out and go to bed. It did not look like Geneva would be coming by to tuck me in after all but I had to be honest and admit to myself that was never a real possibility anyway.

I had been up on the roof watching the market an hour before the shops had opened the next morning. I had carefully studied everyone that came into the market and watched them leave. All of the trading being done this day was small things. There really was not much at all going on. If it was like this everyday then I really had been stupid with how I had been trading here. I may as well have painted a big fat bullseye on my back. I had no way of knowing the ways of these people beforehand of course as I had simply never had an opportunity to interact with anyone other than my family. With my folks, there had always been a deep, unshakeable trust. It was not something that needed to be learned. It was something that had just always existed. I had been naive in thinking that the whole world worked that way. I began to wonder if I would ever know anyone I could trust again.

The sun was going down now and the vendors began closing up their shops. I certainly would have seen the rifle if it had been offered for trade and poor Myrna had not bought or sold a thing all day. I did not think that the Raiders had beaten me to Diamond City so I figured they just had not found a patsy to fence the goods for them yet. From what I understood about Raiders, they are motivated to steal and trade for caps to support their chem addictions. They would not be tempted to keep and hold anything no matter how nice it may be. I convinced myself that they simply had not found a way to get rid of the items yet and then decided I better get downstairs. The boy and girl running toward the front door had reminded me that I had a promise to keep.

More to come...

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