"Joss, wake the fuck up!"
Joss was rudely awoken to Cass throwing a box of gumdrop at her head.
"What the hell!" Joss yelled, and rolled over. She hit the ground with a thump, and realized too late that she had fallen out of bed.
"…..ow." she said, muffled by the pillow she had taken down with her.
"We're going to Freeside today!" Veronica bounced into the room, and Joss groaned. Veronica's bubbliness was too much this early in the morning.
Joss glanced at her pipboy. It was nine in the morning after all…. She should get up.
She greeted the others in the kitchen of the small shack, and after a quick meal, they all set out. The trip should be rather uneventful, or she hoped it would be.
Cass took a swig of whiskey as she walked alongside Joss. Veronica was on her left, babbling endlessly about her experiences in the brotherhood and how they needed to change their ways or be wiped out.
Arcade and Raul followed close behind, with Boone tailing the back of the group. He liked to stay at the back where he could easily line up a shot without having to worry about the others. Lily would stay alongside Boone, and she hardly ever spoke so he liked her just fine. ED-E would often hover on his other side, which creeped him out a little. He always felt like there was a giant metal cazador hovering above his head. But ED-E was useful for carrying all the heavy stuff, so he didn't have to.
Rex barked from the front of the pack, signaling they were near the East Gate. He ran towards the group of Kings standing nearby, and they greeted him with smiles and pats.
"I really want to go to the Silver Rush…. Check out their plasma range." Joss said out loud and turned to everyone.
"No way am I going in there." Cass grumbled.
"Well, why don't you take Rex to see the King?" Joss suggested.
Eventually everyone decided to go and see the King, and Raul decided to stay with Joss.
"No way I'm staying with them, boss. Good way to get myself into trouble."
Joss shrugged, and the two of them headed towards the Silver Rush. After being patted down, they went inside.
Jean-Baptiste cut her off as she walked in the door.
"I trust you've brought your friend with you?" he glared at her.
"No, I haven't." she said.
"Why the fuck not? I don't have all day to be waiting around for her, you know." He looked angry and she shrank back against Raul.
"Who the fuck is this?" He snapped his attention to Raul, who had protectively moved in front of Joss.
"This is my friend, Raul." Joss said, in as polite a tone as she could muster. She couldn't stand Jean. He was an absolute asshole, and there was no way she was going to send Cass here to her inevitable death.
"We don't allow your kind here." Jean-Baptiste snarled at Raul. Joss's mouth dropped open and Raul looked hurt, something she had never seen before.
"How dare you speak to him like that!" anger burned in Joss's very core and without thinking, she swung a punch directly at Jean's jaw.
Her punch surprised him, and he nearly fell to the floor. Within seconds, Silver Rush guards were rushing towards them.
She grabbed Raul's arm and said, "RUN."
The two ran out the door, and clear down the street until they reached the King's. Finally, they dared to slow down.
The two leaned against each other, panting, trying to catch their breath. Finally, Raul spoke.
"Thanks for defending me, boss. It means a lot that you would do that for an old man."
"Old man or not, Raul, you are my friend, and I will never let anyone treat you any different to me. Unless of course they treat me badly. But in that case I like to think you'll be the one defending me."
"Always, boss." Raul smiled, and they turned to go inside the King's building.