Hidden Valley. It's a bunker, Neil knows. Was a bunker, belonging to the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. And Alex Seattle Geer, in a choice between them and the welfare of the region, chose the latter. In that second whirlwind tour of the Mojave, he let Neil Park bear witness to the remnants of that choice.

Neil hasn't thought about it since. Not due to lack of care or curiosity, of course. No, to Neil, Hidden Valley is an Alex story, its judgments reserved solely for those involved. He had never thought they would be touching on the subject again, and at the time, he had offered a sentence that was only short and achingly sweet.

"It's something I understand."

But Alex brings it up again, and Neil thinks it's hardly a wonder that the man seems exhausted.

"Ah."