This fic is based on Fallout: New Vegas and contains quest spoilers. All characters, places, and situations are the property of Bethesda Softworks. Follow the Courier Kate as she journeys across the Mojave Wasteland in search of purpose and a place to hang up her guns for good. Our story begins when Kate tumbles into Novac and meets a surly sniper named… Oh yeah, you know his name, and you know where this is going eventually…Contains language and PG-13 romance later. Please read and review if your little heart goes pitter-pat for Boone like mine does. ***Also a huge thank you to Genesis Vakarian for motivating me to finish this fic by commenting and following. Thanks so much!***
Kate strode into the little town, kicking tumbleweed out of her way as she went along. Still stunned by the horrors she had seen in Nipton she steered herself vaguely towards a sign that said "Dino Delite Motel." Inside she was met by a grey haired woman counting caps behind a desk.
"Well now dearie, welcome to Novac! Been a little while since we've had a new guest. I'm Jeannie Mae Crawford. I've got a room on the ground floor available with a nice view of Dinky. Only 35 caps a night if you're needing a place to stay."
"Actually I'm looking for someone." Kate said, not sure who or what "Dinky" was.
"You'll want to talk to Manny, the sniper up in the dinosaur. He sees everything and anyone who goes by on the road." The old woman pointed out the window to a 30 foot tall, fiberglass tyrannosaur looming over the road in front of the motel. Clearly Kate had been so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she had missed the iconic Dinky when she came into town. She thanked Jeannie Mae and went to find the sniper.
Dinky, like everything else in the Mojave, had seen better days. The blistered and peeling paint that covered his hide was the palest of greens, bleached by time and fallout. The sun was going down as Kate went up two sets of stairs through a gift shop and pushed open the rickety door set in the dino's mouth. Manny's back was to her and the door, but as soon as it creaked open he spun and pointed his rifle directly at her head.
"Oh shit!" her arms shot up and struck the red flaking roof of Dinky's mouth, showering them both with flecks of paint and dust.
"What the…you shouldn't sneak up on a man like that." He growled, lowering his rifle.
"Sorry I was looking for the sniper who sits up here. I heard he may have some information that I need."
"Yeah well I'm not real sociable so if you don't mind…" he nodded towards the door and went back to staring out at the darkening Mojave. She was not stunned at the rudeness of this "Manny" jerk. Hell, she had been shot in the head, stabbed, bit, trampled, and nearly gang raped by raiders, all since arriving in Goodsprings a week earlier; surely she could handle one cold shoulder. Mere rudeness without any physical attack at least gave her time to study her newest wasteland close encounter with the asshole kind. He stood about 6 foot tall, muscular, and wore a tight fitting white t-shirt and khaki cargo pants and his close cropped blonde hair was crowned with a red beret. He wore sunglasses, ridiculous in the twilight, and had a .308 service rifle with a telescopic sight slung across his chest. By the time she had made this mental inventory Kate was growing angry. What right did this jerk off have to speak to her that way?
"Hey, you can just fuck off pal. I'm tired of being pushed around by assholes everywhere I go. This time I'm not leaving until I get some answers so get used to me standing behind you Manny." Without turning around, the cold, flat voice of the sniper slithered into her ears.
"I'm not Manny lady, and you can stand there till your hair falls out but I've got nothing to say to anyone in this town."
The revelation that this was not the man she was looking for dumped a bucket of ice on Kate's temper. She reached for the door and turned the knob as quietly as possible before creeping out of the sniper's nest. Still she couldn't resist a parting shot.
"Sorry but I'm not from around here."
The sniper's head inclined slightly and she head him mutter, "you're not from around here… Hey! Wait!"