The trip to The Highrise was annoying. In fact the very reason it was annoying was one of the primary reasons he had not visited up until now. The settlement was actually geographically not very far from The Pier, only a few streets over. However the foot path there was long and winding, and not at all easy or direct. The car path there that the APC could actually manage was so incredibly difficult to navigate that Adam was seriously wondering if he would be able to make it back out when it was time to leave. He already felt disincentivized from visiting, but the difficulty was enough to make him consider never coming back. At least never coming back with his APC. These roads were not at all maintained. Honestly, it almost felt intentional.
However, after fighting with the roads for long enough he eventually found a path that led him right to the settlement. The Tower… wait, not the Highrise?
As Adam emerged from the APC alongside his friends he was met with a familiar sight. The sight of Chicago's NBC Tower. The rainbow colored peacock feathers that were the symbol of the broadcasting company were still proudly displayed on top of the carved marble sign that read 'NBC Tower'. However the 'NBC' was partly destroyed and scratched away while the word 'Tower' seemed to have a fresh coat of paint applied to it to make it pop. However there was no doubt this was the same building. He used to pass this place on his way to work all the time. Though he had never stepped foot inside.
The question now was, why did he think it was called the Highrise. As long as the sign out front which clearly read 'Tower' was not misleading him, this was not a highrise. A skyscraper sure, but this was NBC Tower. So then where was the highrise?
A quick look around the area gave him no answers so he came to the conclusion that there must have been a miscommunication. Perhaps when he was learning about the place Eve was talking about somewhere else, or perhaps she misspoke. Perhaps the Highrise exists somewhere else in Chicago and is a different settlement entirely, or perhaps it fell when the Horsemen moved in. There was no way to say for certain. And, honestly, it didn't really matter. This was definitely the destination he had in mind, even if the name was wrong. A simple change of the name in his pip-boy was all it took to rectify the mistake.
Adam left Sgt. Fyre outside to protect the APC and approached the double doors that led to the front. Outside the doors were NBC Tower's twin headed laser sentry turrets. One of the two turrets was destroyed but the other was still operational, judging by its active movements. Adam remembered when these were installed a few years before the bombs fell. Everyone thought themselves a critic and NBC got tired of replacing their windows every time someone got the desire to throw a brick at them. After they were installed they never had problems again.
However this was not the biggest surprise. It was the Mark II sentry bot patrolling outside the front door, still painted in a rainbow color that had managed to also survive the collapse of Chicago and make it into the modern day. Just like the turrets the Sentry Bot was installed to deter vandalism. It worked a bit too well, but such was the state of the world. However the sentry bot did have a newsie hat on, for some reason.
As Adam and his group approached the Sentry bot seemed to note their approach and presence but made no moves to stop them. Perhaps it was set to let anyone through? He was uncertain, but he was pleased not to have to go through a lengthy conversation and introduction.
Once inside he saw the large interior lobby that had been fully converted to a marketplace. Similar to how the mall is in Midway but much smaller. However there were enough shops that it caught his interest. He had no idea what the building was like before, after all he had never stepped foot in here Pre-War, but while it did feel notably changed, it was not changed so drastically that he couldn't still see the original building underneath.
"Wanna split up and look around?" Adam asked his group.
"I don't mind, none." Percy said.
"That is fine." Deccanus said as well.
"I think I'll do some snooping, for the time being, if you don't mind." Mira said with a nod to the other two.
"Sure, that's fine. Just uh… don't get caught." Adam laughed.
"Who do you think you are talking to?" Mira said with a grin and a wink.
"So how about we meet back here in say… an hour?" Adam asked.
"Agreed." The other three said as they split off leaving Adam alone to explore this new settlement.
Of course Adam had every intention of making use of the shops, however he first wanted to get a lay of the land. His guns would still be locked away safe in the APC until he was ready to sell them. But before he jumped into commerce he wanted to explore.
He found out, rather quickly, that this entire tower was populated. For the most part the upper floors were entirely homes and rooms whereas the bottom floors were shops and work stations. There were a few stairways, all opened to the public, however, thankfully, the elevators worked just fine, which saved him a ton of walking.
The houses here seemed to be set up like apartment units, each one self contained and needing for nothing, however on the smaller side as they repurposed office spaces, open floor plans, and more to make use of the maximum amount of space. It felt filled but not cramped.
In fact, by Adam's approximation, this place had a population somewhere in between The Pier and Naper, but more in line with The Pier. Still a far cry from the population of Midway, but not an insubstantial amount of people like he first had assumed.
However while he was exploring he did notice men walking around in police uniforms. Like actual pre-war cop outfits. Judging by their attire and their actions it seemed likely they were what amounted to the Guards here in the Tower. Though who knows, maybe they are all just cosplayers? The interesting thing about them, though, was that they wore a variety of different but similar uniforms. And none of them were of the uniforms he would expect cops of Chicago to wear.
Regardless, after exploring a bit, he made it to nearly the top of the tower and found something incredibly interesting and surprising. The Broadcasting studio of Silver Ray Johnson. And better yet, Silver Ray was just standing outside chatting with someone when Adam walked by, the two men noticed each other and seemed to understand who the other was. There was no way Adam was going to pass up an opportunity to speak with Silver Ray Johnson! And it seemed neither did he!