[color=00aeef]FRIEDA RICHTER[/color] - clinic -- early morning

“Hey doc, you here?... I take it you saw vertibird in the sky…” called a voice from below. 

He turned back to Frieda, "Ah, that'll be Rick...come on, I'll introduce you properly now that...well...now that the cards are on the table as it were." 

[i]Properly?[/i]  Frieda raised an eyebrow and followed the doctor down the stairs.

"Good morning Rick. Yes, indeed I saw them," He began, "In fact, I was just having a conversation with Frieda about their arrival here. She was just as concerned as we were, albeit for different reasons," he paused for a moment, judging Rick's reaction before continuing, he then looked to Frieda and then back to Rick, "Frieda...this is Rick Noel. I'm not sure if you were properly introduced yet...but, well, he's an...associate of mine."

Frieda took a better look at Rick and recognized him as the man with the bad lunch from the day before.  "Huh," was all she managed to reply.  The doc turned back to Rick.

"I've told her who we are, Rick. I believe we can trust Ms. Richter far better than we might trust any of our other informants on the surface. She doesn't have any reason to hate us, and indeed, sympathizes with us far better than anyone else might. I'm not an SRB Agent, I know, and perhaps I overstepped myself, but we need friends out here..."

Something was...happening.  The ambient light seemed brighter, or at least, more...yellow.  Yellower?  Was that even a word?

Frieda reached up and rubbed her forehead with the back of her green-coloured sweatshirt sleeve.  Rick and Arthur continued to talk while she slowly turned on the spot, looking around, finding it impossible not to notice all the small, minute details.  The bandage pile she had made the day before was just slightly unbalanced and leaning towards the left.  Dust particles danced in the sunbeams gently shining through the window.

Any thought of sleep was long gone.  She unhooked her plasma pistol from her belt, gave it a quick operations check, then clicked it back onto her belt.  "Who else knows about your...affiliations?  Anyone?" she posed to both men, inserting herself into the conversation once more.  "If the Commonwealth wastelanders hate your...origins as much as mine, my guess is you have either kept it quiet or only told trusted folks.  Let's just keep it that way, for now."  She glanced back around, out the window and into the street.  "Doesn't seem like they dropped off much more than a generator.  No troops, artillery, anything like that."  She turned back to Arthur and Rick.  "Best thing to do is just act casual.  Go about treating patients like usual, and...uh..." Frieda looked at Rick.  "Whatever you do best.  What is it you do?"

She looked across the street towards the diner and saw some movement within.  Frieda remembered Waylon at the road and watched Barney sit himself into a booth by a window.  A mouse scuttling out of a crack in the foundation dashed down the street and into another shadow.  She turned back to the doc.  "I'll be back in a bit."

Frieda jogged across the street, up the ramp, and into the diner.  She ignored Betty all together and slipped onto the opposite bench in Barney's booth.

"Well, good morning, Frieda.  You're looking...fresh..."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks," she waved her hand, noticing the stubble on Barney's neck and pimple on the hairline of his forehead.  She cleared her throat.  "Waylon and I spent all night at the head of the road keeping watch for those Gunners moving north.  You, or someone like you, needs to take a turn.  That's not unreasonable, right?"

Barney huffed.  "I'm having my coffee."

"Bring it with you," she cooed, sliding the mug towards her and holding it hostage.  "Head of the road.  [i]Now.[/i]"

Barney stood and took his mug back.  "I'm only gonna remind you once that [i]you[/i] work for [i]me[/i]," he grumbled, making his way to the door but not before plunking a couple caps on the counter.

"Or what, you'll fire me?  Between Gunners and random visits from B-- raiders, gonna go ahead and suggest you need someone who knows how to aim a gun."

Barney grumbled some more, then exit the diner completely.

"Hey!  You gonna order, or what?  That ain't a park bench, ya know."  Betty stood behind the counter, hands on her hips, tapping her foot.  She had a freckle on the side of her face and some loose hairs on the back of her neck that didn't make it into her ponytail.

Frieda's fingers twitched.  The Study Buddy pill was something else, to be sure.  She left the diner and headed back towards her and Brandy's house, hoping the younger woman would have some more smokes lying around the house.  She felt completely energized, though craving a cigarette.  She skipped, then jogged back towards her house.  Frieda walked into the house and looked around, surprised that Brandy wasn't awake yet.

[i]Geez, how'd she sleep through the vertibird being practically over her house?[/i]  Frieda didn't want to disturb Brandy and took to rifling through drawers in the kitchen.