VENGEANCE

Gardner, raider leader.

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[gardnersmuseum]

putfueltofire:

“Yeah,” agreed Jensin, gazing stone-faced down at Gardner, “a real poster-boy.”

Ten years, and someone finally figured out how to black-mail him. Figures it had to be this asshole. Jensin probably could have been paid to do this job for whatever Gardner had paid his rat uncle for the information, but he was sure Gardner was aware of that fact. There was probably more to this than Gardner was letting on.

He bore one pearly-white canine tooth. “How are we doing this? Should I make the arrangements?”

“I really appreciate your enthusiasm,” Gardner lauded, patting Jensin’s arm. “Yeah, arrangements sounds real nice. But I think I better be there with you when you go on in. I’ve got all the personal, emotional details about our operation-to-be, and I think he’ll buckle. Here’s the thing, though. You can’t just walk away after we make it happen. He probably won’t trust me even after I start producing what he needs. For the sake of my sanity... and all those fish in that clean, steel barrel... you’ll stay with me and play mediator, right?”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[gardnersmuseum]

putfueltofire:

Jensin ran his tongue across his front teeth. “They aren’t very good about securing deals with people they don’t like, so I’m pretty curious about what you might have that they want,” he said. His mouth tasted bitter and gritty, as if he’d been breathing in the stench of a dust storm.

There was no doubt Gardner was well aware of his past work with the Dead Hand. 

“Really not a they. Said Kolya specifically. We had a run-in back in the spring, almost had a good thing going, til I opened my fat mouth and he shut me out. Funny thing, though, I’ve been listening to the grape vine and I think he’s still in need of my expertise.” Gardner sniffed and pointed down at his prosthetic. “You know I got a history in medicine, right? Back where I grew up, I was taught chemistry. Specifically, they had me making drugs. Chems. I was making, and treating, addictions. It’s just something I have a knack for. So, Kolya,” he turned to look at the flag, “he’s got some people he considers like family, higher up in his gang. They’re trying to get clean. I can make them clean. Fixer’s a real bitch to find out here and the crap a lot of raiders brew up make you more sick than it’s worth.”

Gardner smiled. “I’d be doing good charity work, don’t you think?”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[gardnersmuseum]

putfueltofire:

Jensin had been wondering about the locale, but the mystery had now been clarified. Kind of wished it just for the looks, at this point. On top of that, hearing his given name said by this man gave him an uncomfortable chill. 

“Well, what? Surely you’re not asking me to go in with you and hold your hand,” Jensin said, frowning. 

“But of course not! I just took you out here to let you know, confide in my dearest friend. It’s my insecurities, you see. Do you think I’m making the right decision?” For a few tense seconds, Gardner pouted, and then shook off the expression into one of impatience. “Kolya does not think very highly of me. We may have exchanged some sour words in the past. But I do have something he wants, if I got him to buckle under a deal. I just really couldn’t do it without you.”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[gardnersmuseum]

putfueltofire:

“I can’t imagine why,” returned Jensin, clipped and aggressive. He looked between Gardner’s guards and then back to Gardner. “Especially after all these years I’ve watched you dig yourself into a hole. It’s funny, ironic maybe.”

Jensin’s fingers flexed from a fist to an open palm, causing the leather of the Gauntlet to creak. “You have your hostage, your blackmail, and I’m sure you have a plan with my expertise in mind. I just want to warn you – whatever you’re planning, remember the fate of every man who has dealt with the devil.” It always comes at a terrible price. He shifts his head to the side. “Now, what do you want from me, Gardner?”

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “You know Dead Hand? Of course you know Dead Hand. You’ve done your fair number of favors for ‘em, I’m sure. They didn’t get their mitts on all the trading routes on their own.”

The flag with the six-fingered hand flapped as Gardner watched. “That kind of reach, that power. They’ve got eyes in almost every corner of the city. Yeah, I’ve got my scouts wandering around, but I can’t trust those shitheads to not take it as a day off just ‘cause I’m not in the other room.” He flashed a grin at one of his guards. “Jensin, if anyone could help me find my man, it’d be the Dead Hand gang.”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[gardnersmuseum]

putfueltofire:

At Gardner’s approach, Jensin remained still, trying his best to school his expression into something that wasn’t a snarl. He was a kid, when he left. He didn’t remember (or know) what sort of defenses a vault might have.

“Funny,” he spat, peering down his nose at Gardner. He was going to stick a knife in Abraham’s throat. “I don’t suppose you have any idea how to open one of those doors, do you? Dogs aren’t known for their problem solving skills.”

“You don’t think I can figure something out? Come on, have a little faith. I know they’re paranoid, but all they’ve got is disadvantages on their side. We camp outside, they gotta open the door to shoo us off. If tinkering with the machine doesn’t work, we can use explosives, or time... starve ‘em out.” Gardner shrugged. “I’ve been at this game for a long time, Jensin. And I’m better trained than most.”

He let his gaze drift around the playground. A chilly breeze rattled the nearby fence. He sucked in his bottom lip and started circling again. “But y’know that’s not my aim, I don’t have any beef with that hole in the ground. We don’t gotta let that happen! I’m just trying to scare you. Because you know what I really want. Seems like you’re being useless on your own, though, so we need to turn to other tactics,” he explained. “I need to put out more feelers. Cover more land. Let him know I’m coming for him.”

Stopping in place, he nodded his head toward the distant flag. “I’d love to ask for help, but I’m not on good terms with a lotta folk.”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[putfueltofire-blog]

Jensin immediately bristled, feeling tension crawl through his limbs and up his spine. It was difficult to school the features on his face, but he managed – it was both a shock to hear of his uncle and that Gardner now knew who he was. However, Jensin would die before he would stumble before this man.

“Ah, I see why you have been out and about, then,” said he, voice like the spread of morning frost. His shoulders were squared; he looked like a mountain come alive. “You are a starving dog, looking to sink his hungry jaws in the throat of blackmail.”

[gardnersmuseum]

“Oh, no, don’t lose your temper. It’s unbecoming. You’ve got to stay impartial about these things.” Gardner rolled his shoulders, smiling smugly. “But- but, alright, you’ve convinced me, since you’re already coming to blows. I really am just a dog. But I’m clever and I’m bored, and I need a new chew toy.”

As he stepped closer to Jensin, so did his guards, squeezing in around his personal space. Gardner had his hands in his pockets. “I dug up a big part of your mystery, and you can’t stand it. But it’s not just that. I always thought vaults were funny because they’re supposed to be so safe, but once that door is open it’s just shooting fish in a barrel. That’s baaad, isn’t it?”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[putfueltofire-blog]

Jensin balked, seeming confused by the change in direction. He didn’t know where this was going and he didn’t like it. He stayed, unmoving, in his position. 

He finally said, “I felt like I had something better to do than knockin’ out peoples teeth every day, I guess. It is what it is. Is this… relevant, somehow?”

[gardnersmuseum]

“It’s called conversation. S’not an interrogation. Relax.” Gardner smiled again. Friendlier, this time. "Just trying to let you know, I’ve been going around the block, pulling my weight in this whole ‘stopping the scourge of our community’ thing everyone’s just buzzing about... oh, and also letting you know... I wasn’t aware it was your uncle that set you up in the Zone.”

At this point, Gardner had moseyed a little ways around Jensin, and looked at him from the corner of his eye. “Keeping it in the family?”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[putfueltofire-blog]

“No, but I did send word to your scouts that I heard rumors of him in the north. He has been… very quiet, considering his past activity,” Jensin reported, moving little. He felt oddly nervous, like his words were transparent straight through. “All I have is rumors, I’m afraid.”

[gardnersmuseum]

“I heard that too,” said Gardner sullenly. “Do you think he knows he’s in trouble? Eheh.”

A forced smile cut across his mouth like a lightning bolt, lasting just as long. Swinging his good foot out first, he started to approach Jensin, stirring his guards to attention. They moved in after him like twin shadows. “Yeah, uh, I actually made it around to the Combat Zone. I thought I’d ask around there and let people know I’m still alive. Did you know they still talk about you sometimes? Why did you ever leave?”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[putfueltofire-blog]

“They’re going,” said Jensin, careful not to sound impatient. It proved difficult. “I have been very busy, as you might imagine.”

In fact, it was true. There had been a big fire at the Mudrunner’s place and they were accusing several different gangs of arson. Jensin still had the stench of burning hair in his nose. Maybe he should make something hot, like soup, to clear out his sinuses later.

“It appears you’ve improved your standard of living since I last saw you. It must be quite an adjustment,” Jensin continued. “Now, is there something I can do for you?”

[gardnersmuseum]

“I thought you already were,” he answered with the cluck of his tongue. “I mean, s’a bit of an unofficial arrangement, but still. I’ve been keeping my feelers out. People are still seeing him. Dodging in and out of corners like a rat. The apple of my eye.”

He tilted his chin down, glowering. “You haven’t had any luck tracking you-know-who?”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

[putfueltofire-blog]

Jensin had, briefly, debated on declining the meeting and feigning business; he did, after all, have a trial in three days and he didn’t really want to get wrapped up in something new. It was the strange, gnawing suspicion that had him finalize the deal and meet with Gardner. The location, especially.

So, Jensin arrived on time, right where he was supposed to be. It was a familiar junction, and somewhere he’d been regularly. He felt nervous. Stepping over a ratty, shredded jumping rope, he found himself again in front of Gardner. Gardner, and the biggest of his body guards, apparently.

He sort of wished he wasn’t a one-man army sort of deal.

“Yes. It is,” agreed Jensin. “I’m sure the location is relevant.”

[gardnersmuseum]

“Hm? Well, it’s got the blue open sky and... do you smell that? It’s the outside. I’m getting better at getting around.” Gardner lifted his prosthetic leg a little with pride. His eyes seemed glazed over and his smile was lopsided. He slipped his hands into his pocket as he put his foot down. “I thought it’d be nice.”

Jensin knew the ruins like the back of his hand and Gardner knew it. He was just going to hold onto that card for a while longer. “How are things going?”

[gardnersmuseum]

Checkmate

Gardner was feeling very proud of his plan.

He wasn’t going to get ahead of himself, though. Not cocky. He was a good student and learned from others before him. Always send in a lackey before presenting yourself to the guy who could ostensibly kill you.

The meeting place with the Gauntlet was a derelict playground, identified by the crumbling metal playsets and rusted bolts in the ground where swings used to be. It was chosen for two specific reasons: It was somewhat open and non-threatening, and it was in eyesight of a horizontal flagpole jutting out past a few buildings. Stuck on the end of that flagpole was the head of a deathclaw. A gentle breeze shook the makeshift flag hanging below, sporting an emblem of a six-fingered hand.

The first person Jensin would see was a heavily armored man with a rifle over his shoulder. He strode out onto the asphalt, looked the other man over through the holes in his helmet, and turned around. “Come on,” he called out.

Second bodyguard in tow, Gardner emerged from around the corner. He was dressed down, chest exposed under some leather straps and a springy question-mark shaped peg leg making practiced stamps on the ground. He looked sheepish, already grinning, lifting his eyes upward to see Jensin like a boy meeting his date at a dance.

“Thanks for showing,” he said. “I know it’s kind of out of the way.”

[gardnersmuseum]

the man in the tower? what a problematic asshole i hate him i- *trips* *thousands of pictures of jack spill from pockets* fuck those aren’t mine i swear i’m just holding them for a friend i- *slips on a pile of pictures* fu ck no they’re not mine i hate him i just- *more pictures fall out as i fall to my knees, desperately trying to pick them up* hang on a sec jUst LISTEN

[gardnersmuseum]

What makes you feel better after a long stressful day?

Depends on what’s at my disposal, sometimes kicking the shit out of some sap does it, other times resorting to jet will do the trick.

[gardnersmuseum]

What are your thoughts on chems?

Oh fuck me. I can make them. That’s a lot of what I did back in the Citadel. Then I started taking them myself and got all sorts of fucked up, made a lot of wrong friends on the outside. So my thoughts are don’t touch ‘em unless you love having a good time and embrace the futility of staying healthy in this hellhole.

[gardnersmuseum]

also when you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up

I wanted to fly planes. I also wanted to drive trucks. I learned about Rivet City and wanted to captain a ship. I wanted to be in a submarine. I was a fuckoff kid, basically any toy I got my hands on became my new passion. I grew up to be too smart to do the grunt work and ended up with chemistry instead.

[gardnersmuseum]

hey gardner what does it feel like to be the biggest asshole alive

[gardnersmuseum]

(( Gardner hasn’t got many followers but if anyone can pull some questions out of their ass to send to him i’d be in your debt, i gotta pump him up ))