Perk acquired: Mysterious Stranger!
The Enclave private fell back, his 9mm clattering to the floor, a darker patch spreading its stain across the olive green of his uniform. Cade stared at the body, then at the pistol wrapped tightly in his own shaking, white-knuckled hands. He hadn’t fired it...had he?
“Hey, kiddo.”
The Vault-dweller whirled around, backing up so fast he nearly tripped over the soldier’s lifeless form. Leaning against the doorway behind where he had been standing, as though he had materialized from the wall itself, was a figure only marginally illuminated by the viridian glow of the terminals. One enormous hand rested easily on his holster just above where a fading cloud of smoke was all that betrayed the round that had just left his revolver.
“Who are you?” Cade demanded, keeping his weapon aimed directly between the piercing eyes that stared back at him. “Why did you shoot him?”
The newcomer lifted a hand, slowly, so as not to spook the Vault-dweller before him, removing his broad-brimmed hat and clasping it to himself in an ancient gesture of courtesy. “You looked like you could use some assistance, so I took the liberty of obliging you.” he said. His voice was deep and gravelly, carrying the thickest mountain drawl Cade had ever heard. “Can’t a feller do kindness by a stranger?”