I'd already walked around the small, box room seven times, and so far there was nothing new or interesting. I had a bottle cap left in my pocket, which I'd now taken to kicking around the floor, just to amuse myself. There was Sunset Sarsaparilla vending machine right outside, and just thinking about it made me crave the soda. I banged my fist against the wall, hoping to summon someone.

The door opened, and Lieutenant Boyd walked in, and she stood in the doorway. "What do you want this time?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't sound pleased to see me, Carrie," I said. I enjoyed calling her by her first name, because I knew it vaguely irritated her.

"What do you want?" she asked again.

"I'm thirsty. I could really go for a soda right now, but alcohol would be fine too."

"You'll have water, and be grateful." She left the room to get me my drink.

The NCR had taken me prisoner, because they knew that I had the power to change the fate of the battle for Hoover Dam, and they didn't want me interfering, in case I didn't decide to side with them. If anything, being captured only made me certain that when I escaped, I wouldn't work with them. Who I would work with, however, I still hadn't chosen.

Boyd came back into the room, to find me attempting to the scratch something into the wall using the bottle cap. She whistled, and I when I turned around she tossed a bottle of water to me. I caught it with one hand, and unscrewed the lid with the other.

I drank a large gulp of water, and then smiled at her. "Refreshing, and oh so slightly irradiated," I said, as my Pip-Boy made familiar ticking noises. Boyd stayed standing in the doorway, with her arms folded. "Are you going or staying?"

"I'm waiting for you to finish drinking, so I can take the bottle back. Prisoners aren't allowed to have items. I'm going to need that bottle cap as well."

"If I could break my way out of here with a bottle and a cap, you should be impressed." I downed the rest of the water, and threw the bottle back to her. "There you go, dangerous weapon confiscated."

Boyd sighed, shook her head, and left. At least she let me keep my bottle cap.

I'd been prisoner for about three days now, and had yet to think up an escape plan. One option would be to get someone to open the door, and then attack them and run, but I'd most likely die before I reached outside. I could get someone in, knock them out, steal their clothes and sneak out, but I'm not the stealthiest of people.

So, I was stuck here indefinitely. There wouldn't be any out there looking for me either. I was known for wandering from place to place, never staying long, but making a lasting impression. Cass, the woman I'd been travelling with for a bit, thought I was in Nellis, making contact with the Boomers. She wouldn't suspect anything for at least another week, and that's if she even cared. I'd told her she could stay in the Lucky 38 as long as she wanted, and there was a lot of whiskey there.

There wasn't anyone else, really. I'd met a lot of people, and impacted them in some way, but they never actually remembered me. They remembered Courier Six, someone who'd come back from the dead, and was famous for their determination. But that wasn't me. I wasn't determined; I just wanted revenge on the bastard who'd tried to kill me.

The door opened again, and I swivelled quickly to see who it was. They just appeared to by a regular NCR trooper, with a duffle bag on their back, which they set down on the floor. He peered through the door, and then approached me.

"Are you Ashley, also known as Courier Six?" he asked. His voice sounded strange, like it was strained.

"I am she," I said. He cleared his throat, and took off his helmet. This guy was no NCR trooper. "Holy shit, you're that dude from Nipton, and outside the Tops. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I have been sent to rescue you. Caesar still wishes to meet with you, though why I do not know, when you allow yourself to be captured."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Everyone has their off days. Now, how are we getting out of here?"

"In the bag is an NCR disguise. You will put it on, and we will walk out of here."

"That simple, huh? Well, it's better than my plan. Waiting here until the lieutenant got so annoyed with me she let me go." I walked over to the bag and unzipped it. Inside was some NCR face wrap armour, and a helmet. I held them in my arms, and then looked to him. "Mind stepping outside, or looking away while I change?"

"I will give you three minutes," he said. He left the room, closing the door behind him. I immediately started getting undressed, stretching my limbs out after having worn the tight leather armour for several days consecutively. The NCR armour was quite loose on me, and the boots were too small. The helmet fit fine, though. I shoved my clothes back into the bag, and remembered to take the bottle cap out of my pocket.

He re-entered the room. "Are you ready to go?"

"Sure, let's get out of this place." I picked the bag up, and after he confirmed the coast was clear, we both started walking. Part of me wanted to be as ostentatious as possible, but I kept my head down, trying to ignore my fast beating heart. It was surprisingly easy to get out of the main building, but I thought that outside someone would surely be suspicious of us. They weren't.

We walked out of the front door, and it wasn't until we were further away that I said something. "That was so easy. I could've gone with one my earlier plans, and just ran when someone opened the door."

"The NCR may be inattentive, but they are not ineffective. You would have been killed," he replied.

"You underestimate how fast I can run. So, what now?" I took my helmet off, and wiped my forehead with the back of the same hand.

"I would like you to accompany me to the Fort, where you will speak with Caesar," he said, looking around the area.

"I, a woman, get to speak with the mighty Caesar? Lead the way, my good man." I flashed him a jaunty smile, but he remained expressionless. We continued walking, going a slightly longer way to avoid walking through fiend territory. I glanced up at him occasionally, and then realised something. I didn't know his name. I asked him what it was, and he looked at me for a few seconds before replying.

"I am Vulpes Inculta."

I rolled my eyes. "Why can't you Legion guys have normal names?"

"We do not demean ourselves by using profligate names."

"Okay, going to pretend I know what that word means. So, what's the reason that Caesar, sorry, Caesar wants to see me?" I emphasised the way of saying Caesar the way he says it. He didn't look amused.

"For the same reason the NCR captured you. You're valuable." He tripped over a crack in the road, and then tried to act like it hadn't happened. I bit back my laughter, having to put my hand over my mouth when he glared at me.

"So, I'm valuable am I?" I said. "Well, I suppose I am, seeing as I've got three major people wanting me to help them win the Dam. Two now. The NCR are definitely off my list."

"Since you have come with me willingly, I am assuming that you are considering assisting the Legion."

"Might be. I've got to keep my options open. I'll see what you guys have got to offer, and then probably go with you anyway, because Mr. House is a patronizing asshole." I stopped momentarily, realising I didn't have the Platinum Chip on me. Then I felt something dig into my chest, and remembered that I'd glued it to a safety pin, and pinned it to the inside of my vest. It was the safest place I could think of.

A smile flickered on Vulpes' face. "I am glad to hear of it."

"That's good. Oh, and one more thing, you're not going to enslave me, are you?" I asked, semi-seriously.

"That is not up to me. But if it were, no, I wouldn't. You have proved yourself to be much too useful for that." He looked at me, back to his carefully blank expression. I wanted to try and make him smile again.

"I'm guessing useful is going to be the highest compliment I can get from you. That, or valuable. You really know how to make a girl feel special," I said. He arched his eyebrow, and I grinned. It was now my mission to make him smile.

This was based off a prompt from the Fallout kink meme, but I've lost the link unfortunately. If you find it, do let me know, so I can link to it.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.