Robert Joseph "RJ" MacCready is one of the few characters from the popular post-apocalypticFalloutfranchise to appear in bothFallout 3andFallout 4.In the latter, he's all grown up from being the mayor of the Little Lamplight's children's colony and now a gun for hire.

The Sole Survivor inFallout 4first sees MacCready in the VIP section of The Third Rail, located in Goodneighbor. Upon arrival, he's confronted by two Gunners named Winlock and Barnes, and their conversation reveals that MacCready was a former member of the Gunners. The Gunners are one of the most merciless groups in all of the Commonwealth, similar to the Raiders but more strict and organized. Despite leaving the Gunners, MacCready is still taking jobs as a gun for hire inside Gunner territory, making him their enemy.

Fallout Maccready close up

MacCready tells the player they can hire him on as a sharpshooter companion. His first offer is 250 caps, but the player can lower the price for his services if they have enough Charisma. While traveling with MacCready, he's all-business, only concerned about himself and getting paid.Once he reaches an affinity rating between 250 and 500, he will reveal some of his backstory. He explains that through his mercenary services, he's been desperate for work and earning caps throughout Goodneighbor, but Winlock and Barnes have been interfering with his business and costing him caps.

MacCready considers buying them off, but he and the player eventually conclude that they have to kill them. This begins the companion quest titled "Long Road Ahead," which begins by traveling to the Mass Pike Interchange to kill the two Gunners. The location is not easy to find as it's virtually in the middle of nowhere and west of Vault 81.

The mission begins on the ground underneath the overpass road, so the player and MacCready have to sneak up and kill a few Gunners at guard stations. Once the ground-level Gunners are cleared, the player will find a shack with the elevator leading to the overpass. This particular elevator will lead the player and MacCready right in the middle of Gunner camp and they will be fired upon right away. However, another elevator to the north will lead to yet another elevator that takes the player to the overpass's northern entrance, allowing for a stealth attack on the camp instead. Plenty of guns and ammo will be required to survive this attack against a group of Gunners along with Assaultrons, Turrets and a Gunner who will try to get into a suit of Power Armor. Winlock and Barnes are present and will need to be killed to complete this part of the task.

This completes the first part of "Long Road Ahead," and MacCready is satisfied believing the Gunners will finally leave him alone. He even pays the player back the caps originally paid for his services earlier. However, it will take a while for the second part of the quest to continue, as the Sole Survivor has to continue traveling with MacCready as a companion until his affinity for the player reaches 750.

MacCready reveals he had a wife named Lucy (who he alludes to being dead), and they had a son named Duncan. MacCready promised Duncan he would turn around his life and even stop cursing. His son still lives in the Capital Wasteland but has developed a rare disease that no doctor has been able to identify or find the cure for. After exploring all options, he begs for the Sole Survivor's help, explaining that he was told by an acquaintance named Sinclair about his friend having a similar disease to Duncan's. Sinclair had plans to break into a medical facility called Med-Tek Research and got their lockdown security codes, but his friend succumbed to the disease before attempting. MacCready believes that the cure to his son's disease is located inside the Med-Tek Research center.

When finding the abandoned Med-Tek Research, there's first a series of feral ghouls that will have to be taken out. Once the top floor has been reached, go to the terminal and enter the passcode given by Sinclair, which allows the sublevel of the building to open. It will take plenty of ammo to get through the feral ghouls inside the area before finally finding the cure called Prevent on an operating table in a room full of human bones.

When finding the cure MacCready is grateful for the help of the Sole Survivor and the two realize that this was done out of friendship, not for business. "Long Road Ahead" will be finally be completed when the player returns to Goodneighbor and delivers the cure to Daisy, a ghoul merchant and the one individual MacCready trusts to get this to Duncan on time. Once the prevent is given to Daisy, "Long Road Ahead" is finally completed and the player earned over 250 Experience Points. Travel a little more with MacCready to maximize his affinity with the Sole Survivor and you'll learn more about his history in between the events ofFallout 3andFallout 4. You'll also unlock the unique Killshot perk, which increases V.A.T.S. headshot accuracy by 20%.

KEEP READING: Retro Machina Blends BioShock and Fallout to Create a Retrofuture Adventure