Mister Burke

Mister Burke is a mysterious man who can be met in Moriarty's Saloon in Megaton. He is the sinister right-hand man of Allistair Tenpenny, and wants the town destroyed via detonating its atomic bomb in 2277. However, it is not known whether he is truly under the control of Tenpenny, or if he is manipulating his employer toward his own ends.

Background
Little is known about the sinister Burke, except that he was born in 2221. At some point, he came into the employment of Allistair Tenpenny. As Tenpenny's right-hand man, Burke takes care of everything for Tenpenny to the point where the feeble-minded old man practically no longer thinks for himself.

In 2277, it is evident that Burke is using his position to make a living out of influencing Tennpenny into fulfilling his own destructive agenda (which Tennpenny misinterprets as Burke being an "agreeable" "go-getter"). Responding to an off-handed comment Tenpenny made about Megaton being an eyesore, Burke moved to Megaton where he scopes out Moriarty's Saloon in search of an outsider whom he could recruit to rig the atomic bomb in the center of the town to explode. In spite of Tenpenny's request for Burke to attempt to evacuate the town prior to its destruction, Burke makes no such effort, and should the Lone Wanderer choose to help them destroy Megaton, Burke expressly forbids him or her from warning anyone.

Daily schedule
He can be found sitting in a chair in Moriarty's Saloon before the start of the The Power of the Atom, and after the player accepts the Fusion Pulse Charge. Once the task of re-arming the bomb is done, he will then go back to Tenpenny Tower, where the player must rendezvous with him. Alternatively, if you disarm it, he will leave Moriarty's Saloon and go back to his house.

Effects of player actions
He can give the Lone Wanderer access to Tenpenny Tower in exchange for installing a Fusion Pulse Charge inside Megaton's bomb.

If the player does not follow Mr. Burke's method of completing this quest, Hitmen may show up at random encounters, and try to kill him/her. If the player loots their bodies, they will find contracts to hunt and kill them, signed by Burke. This is different, however, from Talon Company mercenaries, who will come after the player when they have good Karma, regardless of their actions in Megaton.

Female players with the Black Widow perk get two special dialog options with Burke - they can claim they live in Megaton and Burke will change his plans, or they can persuade him to pay an extra 500 caps for rigging the bomb without the need to pass a speech check.

The Power of the Atom quest is still available from Burke even if Roy Phillips has killed Allistair Tenpenny and taken over Tenpenny Tower. After installing the Fusion Pulse Charge and traveling to Tenpenny Tower, the player will find Roy Phillips and Mr. Burke speaking on Tenpenny's balcony. Phillips is intimidated by Burke and his ability to infiltrate the Ghoul-controlled Tower, and allows Burke to detonate the bomb and destroy Megaton. This act impresses Phillips so much that he hires Burke as his new right-hand man.


 * He can be enslaved with the Mesmetron but will try to escape immediately, setting off his collar.

Notable quotes

 * "You should be proud of your accomplishment"
 * "Any moment now, you'll be dead! Are you excited to see what that's like?"
 * "Why do you knuckle-draggers insist on doing things the hard way... very well."
 * "You're a Masochist!"
 * "I just had this suit tailored!"

Mister Break
Mister Break is a character found in the Sacred Bog area of Point Lookout. He is a part of the hallucination that occurs after the Lone Wanderer consumes Punga Seeds and is seen leaning against an atom bomb, similar to the Megaton bomb but much larger. After interacting with him, the bomb explodes, and the Lone Wanderer wakes up outside of the Sacred Bog. Mister Break is a delusional image of Mister Burke. His clothes are the same except for his Tortiseshell Glasses. When spoken to, he will respond in Tobar the Ferryman's voice (it is later revealed that it was indeed Tobar talking to the hero), and he gives a warning to not get up, saying "you might hurt yourself." Mister Break cannot be killed, only rendered unconcious and will shoot you if provoked. You can steal 10mm rounds from the hallucination.

Bugs

 * If you shoot at Mr.Burke while he is talking to Simms, he will pull out his gun. If you shoot the pistol out of his hands and then pick it up off of the ground, he may pull out a second pistol which you can also shoot out of his hands, giving you a second Silenced 10mm Pistol.
 * It is possible that when you first enter Megaton, Burke will be glitched in such a manner that he "sits" outside of Craterside Supply as if there were a chair there, in the same way he's supposed to sit in Moriarty's Saloon. Burke will not automatically engage the Lone Wanderer in a conversation as is the case in Moriarty's Saloon.
 * A random bug will cause Burke to wear nothing. After one hour he will appear with his clothes back on. This bug rarely happens and only occurs in Moriarty's Saloon if you deny his request and come back later.
 * It is possible that upon entering Megaton for the first time, you may witness him sneaking around near the bomb. He can be engaged in conversation normally, as if he was sitting in Moriarty's Saloon. The Lone Wanderer must engage him in this conversation, as he will not automatically talk to the player like in the Saloon.
 * Even if Burke is killed before you ever set foot in Tenpenny Tower, such as during the confrontation with Lucas Simms, you may still find that hitmen specifically from the Tenpenny Tower quest possess notes signed by Burke commissioning your character's termination. You can still find these notes on them even if you used Black Widow on Burke and he is sending you love letters at the same time.
 * It is possible - especially on the PlayStation 3 version of the game - that if you kill Burke, then (after a long while) he may respawn back, and can be found standing beside the bomb if it is disarmed, though he cannot be engaged in conversation.
 * If you use pickpocketing to steal Burke's ammunition, he will draw his weapon to shoot Simms, then holster it over and over again. When you follow Simms outside, Simms falls down dead.
 * It is possible when you go up the elevator in Tenpenny Tower that Burke will turn hostile towards you. Just go down the elevator then back up and he should be friendly again.
 * If you try to talk to Simms and Burke while they discuss the conversation about Burke trying to blow up the town, they will tell you "they're busy" and "not now." Then both will walk outside instead of Mr. Burke killing Simms. When outside, Burke will tell you how you will regret not taking his offer. After finished with the dialogue, Lucas Simms will drop dead to the ground.
 * If you use the Black Widow perk to persuade Burke not to blow up Megaton, you may have to wait weeks for the letters due to the fact that Moriarty -who is ment to give you the letters- disappears as soon as you persuade Burke. Or you might not get them at all.

Behind the scenes
Burke is the name of a town in Virginia south of Fairfax and Annandale.

Appearances
Burke appears in Fallout 3 and gives The Power of the Atom quest. He also shows up as his alter ego, Mister Break, in Point Lookout addon quest Walking with Spirits.