Disclaimed: I do not own Fallout New Vegas or any of it's characters except mine of course :)
"Truth is, the game was rigged from the start..."
These were the words that haunted Roxie ever since the day she was shot in the head by the man in the checkered suit. She considered herself lucky, not that many people would survive being shot in the head then buried alive. Then again, the best thing you can have in Vegas is Lady Luck on your side. For what Roxie was planning to do, she was going to need it.
Roxie was in a bustling casino filled with people. She began walking forward until the sight of a familiar man piqued her interest. She watched him intently talking to someone that appeared to be a bodyguard. As he walked away she felt a sort of urgency, and instinct to follow him. She rushed through the thick crowd of people and watched as the man got further away. It got to the point where she pushed anyone who got in her way. She ran up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Yeah?" he asked and turned around. His facial expression turned to utter shock, "What in the-"
Before he could finish, Roxie put a bullet in between his eyes, and the man in the checkered suit fell to the ground. Roxie took a deep breath in and savored the moment. No one in the casino gave them a second look, it was as if nothing happened...
Roxie shot up on her make shift bed in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It was dark all around and there wasn't a soul in sight, except for Boone and Rex who were sleeping near her. She felt so on edge; Her heart was beating a mile per minute and she tried to even out her breath. She brushed back a piece of her long brown hair that hung freely to her lower back and fixated her eyes on the ground.
Dreams like that were normal since the incident though. She dreamed of getting revenge on the man who tried to kill her. His name was Benny, and from what she knew, he was a no good rat.
She was able to track him down back to New Vegas, but even then she didn't have enough caps to get into the Strip. Her trip from New Reno left her with a mere 100 caps, and her courier job was supposed to bring in more money for her, but that didn't quite work out for her.
Now she had to look for any odd jobs she could come across to earn the caps to get into the Strip. It wouldn't be an easy task, but the reward was too temping to pass up. She stood up and brushed some sand off of her Merc Charmer outfit.
"Wake up boys, time to get moving," Roxie said as she put out their campfire.
Boone groaned, "Again?"
Roxie rolled her eyes and checked her Pip-Boy 3000, "What, it's only 3 am. You'll survive."
Boone, "Rox, this is the third night in a row." Even Rex gave a small whimper to signify how tired he was.
"But we're so close!" Roxie said, "If we keep moving, we can reach Freeside by the morning! Maybe some of the shops there need some work done. Like Silver Rush, hell, maybe even the Atomic Wrangler!"
Boone put his red 1st Recon Barrett on his head and asked, "You'd whore yourself out to get into the Strip?"
Roxie rolled her eyes, "That's not the kind of work I meant."
"That's the only work you'll get at that dump," Boone retorted.
"You never know," Roxie said, "And if worse come to worse..."
"Don't even think about it," Boone said.
Roxie smiled. In these past few weeks Boone had become like a father to her. He looked out for her, kept her out of trouble, and made sure she barely got hurt. There was an exception when she ran into a group of Cazadors for no good reason, and he let her fend for herself before he finally came to her aid. After that incident whenever she would complain about the stings the creatures gave her she would chuckle and say, "It was your own damn fault."
"I think you're obsessed," Boone stated and broke the silence.
"Obsessed with what?" Roxie asked.
"Getting revenge on Benny," Boone answered.
"He deserves it. It's just like how you feel about the Legion," Roxie said.
Boone had no answer to this. He always got silent when his wife or Caesar's Legion was brought up. Roxie couldn't blame him though. He had to take away the life of his wife an unborn child so they wouldn't have to face the horrors of slavery.
"There's nothing you could have done, y'know," Roxie said. "You saved them a world of pain and suffering.
"Yeah." Boone grunted shortly.
Roxie looked at him for a minute as he stared at the ground. "... Let's get going."
Boone got up, as did Rex, and the three proceeded down one of the routes in silence.
Roxie stared at the ground as she walked, feeling guilty about bringing up Boone's wife. He never talked much anyway, but the silence was killing her. She finally looked up and saw something in the distance.
"Wait," she commanded as the other two stopped. "What is that?"
Boone slowly reached for his Sniper Rifle as Roxie squinted her eyes. Something was running toward them. Something tall with giant claws was approaching them fast.
Her eyes widened in realization, "Run! It's a deathclaw!" She reached for a grenade and began running in the opposite way. Boone shot at it, but Rex ran toward the deathclaw and began to bit it.
"Rex! No!" Roxie yelled. Rex was thrown against a rock by the creature and knocked unconscious.
"Shit. There goes outrunning the damn thing," she mumbled as she threw a grenade at it. She just didn't have it in her heart to leave behind her canine companion after all they've been through together. If it wasn't for her, Rex would still be sick or even dead. She took him all the way to Jacobstown so he could get a brain transplant. She even found his brain for him.
Boone stopped dead in his tracks, took close aim, and fired another shot at the deathclaw. It hit it right in the eye, instantly killing the beast.
"Nice shot," Roxie commented.
"Thanks," Boone replied.
Roxie ran over to Rex and dug through her bag for a stimpack. "Hold him down," she told Boone.
"Great," Boone muttered and held the semi-mechanical dog down.
Rex never took too well to needles, and it was always Boone to hold him down whenever a stimpack needed to be administered. Rex's kicking metal legs were most likely the reason for multiple bruises on his body.
"It's alright boy," Roxie cooed as she gently administered the shot. Rex quietly whimpered, but didn't kick because he had only begun regaining consciousness. She spent a few more moments scratching behind his ears in an attempt to make him feel better.
"Damn deathclaw... Why didn't I see it coming sooner?" Roxie asked.
"Because you're too tired," Boone said.
"What do you mean? I feel perfectly fine," Roxie said.
"We're staying here and sleeping for the rest of the night," Boone said sternly.
"But Freeside... I can see it from here. It won't be too much longer," Roxie protested.
"Night, Rox," Boone said as he took his hat off and placed his rifle to his side. Even Rex had curled up and entered sleeps welcoming embrace.
Roxie huffed in disappointment. "It's only a matter of time before Benny leaves New Vegas," she thought, "I can't let him slip away again, not when I'm so close."
She laid back on the ground, but didn't catch a wink of sleep. She stared at the sky and the stars, and slightly shivered from the coolness of the night. "Stupid rat," she mumbled thinking about Benny, "He's probably nice and warm in a top floor suite of his casino."
Then a thought popped into her head. A thought she never imagined would come up in a million years. "Flirt with Benny, show him what a real woman is like."
Roxie shook her head, "Nu-uh, no way," she mumbled.
"You'd never have to spend another night in the desert ever again..."
Roxie thought for a moment. A warm bed every night, the safety of the strip, no more deathclaws or cazadors to deal with, and someone to call a lover. The only problem was that he would be that son of a bitch Benny. That was something she couldn't stand.
"Put it out of your mind, Rox," she whispered to herself and curled up, "It's never gonna happen..." Within moments Roxie fell asleep.
"Wake up," Boone said and lightly shook Roxie's shoulder. She slightly opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Five more minutes," she mumbled and turned away from him.
Boone chuckled a little as Rex went up to Roxie and licked her face.
"Alright, alright," she groaned and sat up, "I'm up." She rubbed some sand and dirt away from her eyes and finally asked, "What time is it?" She looked down at her Pip-Boy, "One o'clock! We should have been on the road hours ago!"
"You needed your sleep," Boone said, "You're not as perceptive when your tired."
"Whatever," Roxie said and got up, "We have time to make up, let's move!"
"We're not running again," Boone said.
"Aw, you're not fun!" Roxie whined. She bent down and looked at Rex, "You want to run, right boy?"
Rex barked happily with his inner canine coming out. He sprinted forward down the road, with Roxie following him. Boone sighed and ran after the two, watching closely for any threats or danger.
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