Shrapnel

Shrapnel is one of the many residents of Rivet City. Together with his partner Flak, he runs the Flak 'N Shrapnel's weapons store in the Marketplace. He can sell you ordinance and repair your weapons.

Flak and Shrapnel share their store's inventory, so buying or selling from either one of them will update both of their stocks. This means that if Flak is enslaved by the player for Paradise Falls, Flak 'N Shrapnel's in the Marketplace will still be open. They consistently have a larger amount of caps than the other shops in Rivet City, making them prime sources of cash in exchange for unneeded loot.

If Flak is enslaved, Shrapnel will wander the Wasteland. It will be possible for him to be as far west as Five Axles Rest Stop. He will be invincible, still talk about Rivet City, and still sell items. If you free Flak from Paradise Falls, Shrapnel will return to Rivet City once again.

Bugs

 * Shrapnel can't die, he just becomes unconscious. This is strange since he's not even involved in any quests. However it is worthy of note that this could be due to Flak being able to be enslaved, with Shrapnel being "essential" there should always be some gun merchant in Rivet City.
 * After Flak is enslaved, Shrapnel can sometimes be found at the Jefferson Memorial during the final battle between the Enclave and the Brotherhood of Steel for no apparent reason and he will still sell things from his shop and talk about Rivet City. Shrapnel can't be killed so he can be repeatedly knocked out at the battle with no worries.
 * In the PC and X-Box version of the game, When you enslave Flak and then travel to Paradise Falls to claim your reward for enslaving him, you may randomly find Shrapnel leaving Paradise Falls. It is unsure as to whether he went to visit Flak or if there is a glitch in the game. He will still talk normal as if he was in Rivet City and he will still sell you weapons as well.
 * If finding Shrapnel is a pain, check the adult slave pen in Paradise Falls. He might be found there hanging around with the other slaves you enslaved for the quest Strictly Business. You can still talk to him as if he's in Rivet City.

After this random occurrence, Shrapnel may disappear for good and cannot be found in Rivet City at his shop or in his room. It is said Shrapnel cannot be killed but he can completely disappear from the game. There are no cheat codes or commands in the console version of the game to go to spawn at a characters location. In this case, if you need to purchase weapons or ammo, there are a number of other characters you can still buy weapons off of including Pronto (located in Paradise Falls, give him 20 Chinese Assault Rifle's and he will sell you a full inventory of weapons) and Sydney (assist her in Stealing Independence and she will move to the Underworld and sell a full inventory of weapons.

It seems that Shrapnel always follows Flak wherever he goes. When Shrapnel cannot be found after enslaving Flak, check the adult slave pen (as mentioned above). If you want them back in Rivet City, successfully disarm the slave collar off Flak. Then wait or sleep for a few hours (so Flak can reach Rivet City safely) and then go to Rivet City. If they're not still in the Marketplace immediately wait again out of the market. If you return (preferably the next day) Flak and Shrapnel will be back in their booth.

Appearances
Shrapnel appears in Fallout 3.