POV Rio
After having a fantastic time at the Third Rail, we made our way to the Memory Den in the morning to see if Kent had finished the costume alterations.
"Oh, you came right in time! I just finished the last touches," Kent says while handing me the costume and a Silver Submachine Gun.
The armor was very tough, and I was confident it would be able to protect me. I took half damage when stopping crimes and from criminals while wearing it. It boosted my Charisma, Perception, and Agility by 2 points each. It also makes me 75% harder to detect while sneaking. Overall, it was a great suit. Lastly, it grants me a 25% resistance to magic and immunity to the charmed status.
The Silver Submachine Gun had plenty of perks. It did more damage against evil-aligned beings, with damage increasing the more evil the being is, and had unlimited magazine capacity with all ammo automatically loading into the gun. The effect applied even if someone else was using it. Not that it was likely to happen, as the gun doesn't work unless you are wearing the Silver Shroud Outfit. The last effect of the gun was that it had nearly perfect accuracy with no bullet spread. The only downside of the gun, depending on your viewpoint, was that it did less damage the less evil-aligned a person is. But I didn't see that as a downside, as it prevented accidental injuries.
I was very satisfied with the suit and weapon. Especially when I put on the suit and Kent started fanboying about the 'real' Silver Shroud suddenly appearing. Cait and Quiet were also affected for a second, but then they snapped out of it and realized how strong the suit really was. The initial quest, called the Silver Shroud, was then completed, and a new quest began called The Silver Shroud Returns. My first job was to stop a Chem Dealer named AJ, who was selling to kids.
Finding AJ was easy. He wasn't even trying to hide. When I approached, the man was unafraid at first.
"Hey, look at the clown. This is my turf, clown. And I don't appreciate what-you-call-ems -- trespassers," AJ says.
"Peddling poison to kids, are we? Today, you face the Silver Shroud!" I say with a deep, almost Batman-esque voice.
"Wh-what the? What's your deal? So I sell Chems to kids. The kids love 'em. Cherry Flavored Jet. Bubble Gum Mentats. I'm just an honest entrepreneur," AJ says with a little worry.
"Your time is at an end, miscreant! The Shroud has come for you!" I say while drawing my Silver Submachine gun and killing AJ and his three guards before they can even react.
When the bodies all hit the floor, I drop a calling card that just pops into existence when I think about it and walk away. As I am doing so, I leave the area and wait for Kent to send word of my next target. I also just wander around stopping crime that I find. As I do this, I listen to the radio and hear Kent.
"Another special update! No, it wasn't Mayor Hancock who offed AJ and his goons. It was the Silver Shroud! See his calling card if you don't believe me. Now's our time, listeners, justice is coming to Goodneighbor. You'll see," Kent says.
Not long afterwards, I got my next assignment.
"The Silver Shroud's bringing justice to Goodneighbor. You bad guys better look out. And now a special update. The villainous assassin Kendra was recently spotted at the Third Rail. The same Kendra who bombed Little Joe's shack and killed four innocent drifters. If you want to see the Silver Shroud in action, stay near Whitechapel Charlie. The Shroud's sure to interrogate him to find the evil-doer's whereabouts," Kent says with confidence.
Whitechapel Charlie didn't even bother trying to protect Kendra when I walked in; he just told me where to find her. I wasn't sure if it was because he was scared or if it was because Kendra was bad for business, but it made my job easier. I was told to head to a small apartment building on the edge of Goodnieghbor. When I got there, I didn't even wait and blew open the doors and started blasting everything that moved, as I could see everyone was a Raider, and if they weren't guilty, then the gun wouldn't harm them much beyond the pain of an airsoft gun.
"Sh*t! It's that freak from the Radio! Blast 'em!" Says the leader of the small gang of Raiders.
I found it interesting that Kendra, on the top floor, didn't try to come down and help them. But even if she did, it wouldn't save her. The few Raiders didn't last that long, and when I was done, I made my way up the stairs to confront Kendra.
"So you're the Silver Shroud? You really did a number on those idiots downstairs," Kendra says with a smug smile.
"Were they your thugs?" I reply.
"No, just some idiots that were too scared to leave when they had the chance," Kendra replies.
"You must be the assassin, Kendra," I reply.
"I am just a working woman. Making sure I have food on the table. And if that means I have to shoot some idiots who cause problems, then that is what I will do. But hey, we don't have to be enemies. I am just doing my job, nothing against you," Kendra says calmly as if this isn't her problem.
"You've taken your last life, Villain!" I say while drawing my gun and aiming at her.
Kendra draws her at the same time, but she doesn't even manage to get her pistol out of its holster before she is turned into a sieve. I search her body and look around. I found some loot, but most noteworthy was a paper detailing what Kendra was hired to do. I had no intention of completing the job, but I was curious why she was hired to kill Shelly Tiller.
'I guess I can go and ask real quick. I imagine Shelly should have some idea why she is being targeted.'
Shelly was hiding near Diamond City, so I made a quick trip to meet her. When I found her, she was surprised and paranoid. When I asked why someone might want to hurt her, she wasn't willing to talk until I showed her the contract.
"Sh*t! I knew he wouldn't let me go," Shelly says.
"Who?" I ask.
"Sinjin. He runs most of the chem trade in the Commonwealth. Has a large group of gangsters and Raiders that run his little empire," Shelly explains.
"Why would they want you dead?" I ask.
"I-I used to do his finances. Made sure payments were given out on time to those who needed them. B-But I-I made a mistake, and when you make a mistake, Sinjin doesn't let you off lightly. Especially when I ended up losing him some money. I-I ran. I knew working with him was a bad idea, but I needed the caps to survive. And they needed someone good with numbers and math. I figured I wasn't hurting anyone, just making sure people got paid on time," Shelly explains.
"Why haven't you gone to the Mintuemen for help?" I ask.
"I tried. But every path I could take was blocked off by Sinjin's men. I hid here while waiting for a chance to sneak over the river into Mintutemen territory. I have incriminating evidence on Sinjin and can confirm the terrible things he has done. He avoids hitting Minutemen caravans and territory to avoid detection, but he has a lot of men under him," Shelly says.
"Where does he operate from?" I ask.
"Milton General Hospital is his main base, but he has several other distribution sites all over the Southern Commonwealth," Shelly says.
"Alright. Follow me, and I will get you to Minutemen territory safely," I reply.
"Sigh. Oh, thank you! I was terrified that if they knew I was here, I wouldn't get across the river, or even worse, they might pursue me even after I got there," Shelly says with a relieved look.
Leading her out of the area and across the river isn't that hard, and when I do, I make sure she is placed with a Minutemen patrol so I know she will be safe. I also turn around and walk over to the pursuers that I noticed following us.
"Well, what have we here. Hey, boys, looks like dinner's come to us. You've been really naughty, Mr. Shroud, making all my friends sooo nervous. Taking out Sinjin's favorite toy soldiers. But now it's time to rip your god-damned heart out!" Smiling Kate says with a deranged look in her eyes.
I had my gun out, so I just opened fire, and I took cover at the same time. I kill 6 of the Raiders before falling behind cover. Given the group was only 9 strong, it was pretty good. Cait took out another, and Quiet killed the last two. I left another calling card, and we went back to Goodnieghbor. But as we got near, I tuned into the Silver Shroud Radio and heard an odd broadcast.
"This is a message for the Silver Shroud from Sinjin. We got 10 hostages. We will kill one every day that you don't show up at the Milton General Hospital in Roxbury. Hit another one of our men, and they all die. Call the Minutemen, they all die. Come with backup, and they all die. Try to play any tricks, and they all die. If we run out of hostages, we will keep grabbing more until you show up. Come alone. Time's tickin', Shroud," the man stops talking, and the radio switches to Kent.
"Sh-Shroud, come when you hear this. I'm setting this to repeat," Kent says.
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Author's Note:
I altered the quest as I thought that with the drastic changes in Goodneighbor, a murderer would be big news, and Hancock would deal with them swiftly. I also thought it was odd that the story never mentioned why Shelly had to die. Just that there was a contract out on her. But we know Avery seems to work for Sinjin, so I thought that Shelly would be a defector or someone who caused enough issues for Sinjin to warrant hiring an assassin. Until next time, Ciao.