Disclaimer: Bethesda owns all, I just take them out to play.

A/N: For those of you who read The Last Letter, this is the fleshing out of that one-shot with both the events and story leading up to that point in time and the aftermath.

First time he sees her, she's a glint of glass with a cowboy hat out on a sandy hill in the Mojave, scanning the night horizon. Once in a while, she stops and focuses on him and he quickly aims, unnecessarily as she then proceeds to wave at him. He carefully lowers his rifle and clenches his jaw. Damn idiot is going to get herself killed, pointing at a sniper like that.

Second time he sees her, she barrels into his chest as he's heading up for his night watch in Dinky. Manny stares after her with an odd look of desire but she just looks bored.

"You the night sniper?" she asks rhetorically before quickly continuing, "I hope you're smarter than your friend here," she jerks a thumb back to the daytime sniper.

"He's not…" Boone begins, but she's gone before he can finish.

Manny shrugs at him while avoiding his gaze. "Wanted some information, tried to get her to work for it but turns out she's smarter than me."

Boone only gives a minor grunt in response before brushing past him to take up his post, setting his Sunset Sarsaparilla down next to a particular chipped tooth in the giant mouth. Manny sighs and takes his leave, giving a weak goodbye before the door shuts.

Third time he sees her, Ranger Andy is demonstrating a take-down move to her in the courtyard, using an unwitting Novac resident as a dummy. He watches as she fluidly imitates him, throwing the poor man to the ground with ease. He grunts before shouldering his rifle and marching back to his room for whisky and sleep.

Fourth time he sees her, she silently appears next to him in Dinky's mouth round about 02:30. He swears at her in surprise and she just gives him a mild smile in response.

"Heard some people mention around town that your wife is missing."

"That's none of your business."

"I just thought I would offer to help, I'm great at finding things. Also great at losing things, but that tends to happen when you're shot in the head," she quirks a smile at him, unfazed by his steady beady eyes shaded by the dark lenses. "I'm a courier. Some asshole shot me for my last delivery. Trying to track him and it down. That's how I met Manny; he said he knew the guy. Or met him, anyway. He was stupid enough to keep a diary on his computer, as if his door is hard to unlock, psh." She rolls her eyes before returning to his steady gaze.

He mulls it over for a minute. Here is a woman who is new in town and will be leaving shortly. She would be a perfect candidate to help him find his wife's betrayer. She even offered to help him. He doesn't have much money, but she looks like she'll take anything.

Fifth time he sees her, she's got his beret comfortably settled atop her auburn hair, standing a safe distance from the bitch who sold his wife. After he takes the shot, she doesn't even spare a parting glance at beheaded corpse on the desert floor as she troops back up to Dinky and asks him to follow her.

He doesn't know why he's following her, this little shit-kicker, just that he felt compelled to do so. Who the fuck is she, anyway? He watches her swing her rifle around up to her back. It's a piece-of-shit hunting rifle that's been modded with a scope. Probably can't shoot any straighter than a drunk guy pees. At least she knows how to clean it. Gave him only one name, MacKenzie, and he's not even sure if it's her first or last. Maybe it doesn't matter. He won't be around long enough to get to know her anyway. Safer that way.