It was a damn pleasure to feel cool air in the Mojave for once. The only requirement for that is for the sun to be down beneath the horizon. The downside with the darkness is the increase in danger. The damn wasteland is already one of the most dangerous areas in the world. Nobody would really want it any worse even if a more cooler temperature was given in return.
Either way, this pleasure wasn't going to last long. Courier Six began to see some orange in the sky. Dawn had came, yet his companion is still asleep against his Brahmin. Originally, the courier was going to let his partner continue to rest, but he heard the sound of a jammed gun right behind him.
Immediately, he glanced over and noticed two figures not even a dozen feet away from him. Instincts took over, and the courier unholstered his pistol to unload a magazine into their ambushers chest. After the first kill, he followed up by unsheathing his combat knife and tossing it at the second raider. The courier watched it fly threw the air and impact his target's neck. The poor guy collapsed as he bled out from the precise through.
"Damn. Luck has just been following me around lately, huh?" the courier mumbled.
Obviously the noise had awoken his partner and his animal companion. "What the bloody hell!?"
"Relax. I got him" the courier would try to calm his partner down.
As his partner got up, he stretched his body, feeling his back popped a bit. "Thanks Six. You scared the hell outta me and Coco over here" he referred to the Brahmin besides him. He'd pet his animal companion as she mooed at him.
While Six was equipped with leather armor alongside a simple knapsack, his partner had on a bulletproof vest over a red collared shirt. The sleeves were rolled up at his forearm, revealing his sunburned skin. Accompanying the blue jeans were coyote brown kneepads and boots. Griffon's also wore a brown boonie over his black hair which is normally long enough to cover his hazel colored eyes.
Courier Six would replace the magazine in his pistol before looking over at his partner. "No worries Griffon. By the way, you think you gonna name the second head?" he joked.
Griffon couldn't help but laugh at the comment. "Wouldn't be a bad idea, eh?" he joked. "Aight, lets head out. My friends should have your supplies" Griffon told Six while adjusting the backpacks and crates attached to the back of his brahmin.
"I hope they're still waiting for us" Six hoped as he went to go grab his knife. After pulling it out of the corpse, he slashed the air to get a little bit of blood off. It wasn't too effective unfortunately, but at least Six can now see a little bit of a his reflection. He saw his head. Chestnut colored hair which was cut into a high and tight style, his blue eyes, and the stubble growing around the lower half of his face. Then there was the scar which started at the top of his forehead and ran towards the tip of his left eyebrow. Six gritted at the sight of it. He barely remembers anything now, but he knows for sure that some fancy looking guy shot him in the head. And that's how this whole thing started.
"Oi, Six" Griffon hollered, interrupting Six's vengeful thinking. "Let me see the letter that Mitchell found on your body" he asked.
Six scrambled through his pockets until he found the crumbled up page. Griffon grabbed it and carefully opened it up, not wanting to rip it.
Six Volk. This is your proof of our services. Do not lose it!
My men and I secured your supplies and are currently locating them to Primm.
There is a pile of rubble behind a building with the label 'Mojave Express.'
Search through the bricks and you will find a trap door which will lead to
a small bunker. A couple of my employees will meet with you there. If
the door happens to be locked, then expect the room to be unsupervised.
I don't want you to steal crap of course. Anyways, look for my two helpers
either gambling and drinking at the 'Vikki and Vance Casino' or occupying
a room in the 'Bison Steve' hotel. Thank you for selecting our services
Mr. Volk. We will keep your supplies safe and secured.
~ Lillian Kent, manager of Eagleheart's Storage Unit
Griffon smiled. "I might know the guys that have your gear" he says before handing the note back.
Just like last time, Six carefully tucked it away in his back pocket. "Hey, you think you know why I purchased your group's services? I mean, you basically know my story" he awkwardly laughed.
The courier's partner shrugged. "I mean, I wasn't there when you hired us. Most people hire us mainly because they don't want to drag their haul with them. So most likely, you were just trying to travel light. Though, I think you packed a bit too light" Griffon said while observing the courier.
Six sighed. "Well, chances are I had more gear. I probably got robbed after they buried me" he assumed. All the recent events that has happened to Six has been a bit of bullshit. At least the courier could at least get some good supplies back before continuing whatever his previous goal was. Supposedly, Six's memories will catch up. Maybe not all of them, but big ones such as his name will definitely show up sooner than later.
Sometime around a week ago, Six woke up at Goodsprings in a bed. The town's doctor, Doc Mitchell, had patched him up while the courier remained in a coma. When he came to, Six couldn't remember anything but his name. Doc would tell him the events that unfolded which was very hard for Six to process. According to the old man, a large blue robot that goes by the name Victor dug Six out of his grave and brought him over to Doc.
Apparently Six was still technically recovering, so Doc Mitchell advised the courier to go talk with the people at the saloon. Six just needed to relax until he got back fully onto his feet. Of course, before leaving the house, Six was given his gear back. Unfortunately all Six had were simple clothing and an empty sack with a canteen bottle and a single note inside. Six was able to put two and two together which helped him realize he was robbed. The Doc was generous though. The kind soul gave the poor courier some caps and a 9mm pistol with a single magazine. However, before Six left, he was gifted one last thing. Some advance gauntlet called a PipBoy. It was a very neat device with many different utilities. A map of the Mojave, information about Six's current health, a radio, and even notes about his inventory.
The old man was just absolutely too kind. Maybe the miracle Six was gifted was the reason behind Doc's generosity. Six didn't want the kindness to go to waste, so he helped out around the town a bit. It started out with meeting the robot that dug Six out in the first place. Victor was a bit odd, but he was a nice machine. Apparently he came from New Vegas, but was sticking around for a while. Six doesn't know why, but at the moment he didn't care to ask. The robot ended up wandering around the town after their farewell. Afterwards, Six found himself helping the town guard, Sunny Smiles, and her hound companion, Cheyenne, clear out geckos from the town wells. During the assist, Sunny was willing to teach Six a few things about survival. The courier was sure that he already knew most of the tips before losing his memories though. Either way, it didn't hurt to listen and learn.
After assisting the young guard, Six encountered conflict within the saloon. The bartender and owner, Trudy, was in an argument with an African man with a blue long sleeved shirt and a black combat vest with the text NCRCF written on the back. The man ended up withdrawing after threatening everyone in the building. After the hostile man left, Trudy and Sunny explained to Six about a gang called the Powder Gangers. There was a caravaneer by the name of Ringo who was hiding from the men.
Trudy told Six Ringo's location, the town's abandoned gas station. Six's first meeting with Ringo wasn't exactly subtle. Ringo's first action was to pull a gun out on Six. Thankfully the asshole calmed down before discussing with Six about the conflict. They played a game called caravan as they talked. Six was terrible as they played, but then again he barely understood how the rules worked.
In the end, Six offered his help. The two ended up pursuing Sunny Smiles who easily agreed to assist the two. The three then talked to several towns folk. The settlers being the main factors were Trudy, Doc Mitchell, the general store owner Chet, and a retired prospector who goes by the name of Easy Pete. Trudy helped out when the three came up with the plan of an ambush. She recruited most of the settlers into the fight and rallied them all up. Doc Mitchell, wanting everyone to be safe, gave up some medical supplies. Unfortunately he was too old to fight, which was understandable. Chet was a bit of a bitch, but he was convinced when the idea of his precious little store being ransacked came up. Basically, he gave everybody their own pair of leather armor, but in return he had to 'guard his store.' The little pussy. Lastly, there was Easy Pete who refused to give up his dynamite. Thankfully the old man ended up helping out during the firefight which would happen the next day.
Needless to say, the Powder Gangers got lit up. Everyone ambushed the fuckers from several directions. Easy Pete caused havoc when throwing his dynamite. Hell, Victor showed up out of nowhere and tanked most of the gang's bullets while suppressing fire. In the end there were little casualties, with only a small portion of the settlers receiving gunshot wounds. Nobody died though. Unfortunately the old Pip Boy was damaged. Doc Mitchell might have said that it was okay, but Six still felt guilty. He decided to keep the broken machine just in case he can find somebody to fix it, or somehow repair it himself.
Six stuck around and helped out a bit until he felt ready to get back into the wasteland. Three days ago, Griffon showed up and would take some time to relax. He and Six befriended each other and decided to head to Primm together. After talking to Victor and everyone else about who ambushed him, Six figured Primm was the next destination. Plus, based on his note, there were some useful shit he could pick up.
As the two approached the town, they noticed a soldier-like figure point a rifle at them. Six quickly grabbed the grip of his 9mm to pull it out of his holster. However, Griffon grabbed his shoulder and shook his head at the courier when Six looked back.
Once the stranger approached, a very familiar looking logo of a two-headed bear appeared on the figure's tan chestplate, clear enough for Six and Griffon to see. Griffon had a bit of a distasteful look. Unlike Six, he completely recognized what the animal symbol represented.
"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going? Primm is off limits" the soldier fumed.
Six opened his mouth to speak, but Griffon had beat him to it. "What happened here?" Obviously he was a bit worried about his friends from Eagleheart. According to him, this halt by the NCR shouldn't happen.
"Some convicts from the prison up the road have taken over the town. Everyone inside is either dead or in hiding." Six felt a bit uneasy after hearing that bit of information. He really wasn't wanting to deal with the Powder Gangers again. "What's more, there are two tribes of raiders causing trouble in this area as well. You'd be safer heading back up to Goodsprings."
"Thanks for the warning" Six immediately responded. Obviously the courier was going to ignore any further advice from the soldier. He was just too impatient with all the bullshit that's been happening. Six has priorities. To get clues about the fucker who shot him, and to regain some more of his memories. Both tasks kinda interlock with each other.
"Be careful. You might want to talk to Lieutenant Hayes" the soldier suggested. "He's in a tent down the road. Just stay on the west side of the overpass if you don't want to get shot." Six and Griffon nodded and started walking besides each other. Overall, it wasn't a bad idea, but both wastelanders had different things in their minds.
"Ya wanna go speak to the officer?" Griffon asked.
"Fuck that" Six replied. "We got other shit to do."
It didn't take long for the two get fired at by men armed with weak handguns and rifles. The biggest threat to the two were probably the sticks of dynamite occasionally thrown at them. Then again, there also was a lack of cover, so those shitty firearms were more of a threat than they should be. This led to poor Coco having her limbs crippled. Soon afterwards, a stray bullet flew through one of her heads, a fatal blow for the cow.
"Coco! God dammit!" Griffon cursed before sliding behind his brahmin's corpse. He quickly pulled off one of his packs and a varmint rifle from the animal's corpse. After loading a full magazine of 5.56 ammo, he peaked out and took only a second to aim before pulling the trigger. The bullet would hit a raider's shoulder causing the recoil to throw the body back. Unfortunately the victim wasn't yet dead.
Six quickly hid behind Coco alongside Griffon after the shot was fired. While his companion grabbed some gear from the dead brahmin, Six suppressed fire with his pistol. After reloading the handgun, Six noticed his lack of ammo. "Uh… Grif?" he looked at his companion.
"Don't worry about it. There ain't much of them out here" he'd point out while pulling the bolt of the rifle back. "I count three at most. Well, there's one more on the roller coaster track, but he ain't going to hit us" Griffon reassured. It's unfortunate that Griffon only has a varmint rifle as his weapon. Though, his is in good condition. "Just leave the rest to me Six" Griffon said before popping his head back up and firing another shot at the already injured raider. This was the killing blow.
The raider grasped onto his chest as he fell backwards. Griffon immediately switched targets. The second raider tried lighting a stick of dynamite, but Griffon's trigger finger was faster. The 5.56 round pierced through the poor man's neck, causing him to choke on blood. What made it worse, the stick of dynamite was lit. It wasn't long until him and the final raider were blown to bits. With that final explosion, the battle was over.
Six was about to get up, but was pulled down by Griffon. Shots ended up hitting the ground nearby them after Six was pulled to cover. "Oh right, the one on the tracks" Six groaned.
Griffon sighed. "I don't got a scope, so this is going to be a bitch to handle" he complained before pulling out a pack of cigarettes to light.
"Is now really the time?" Six scolded.
"Like I said, he ain't gonna hit us" Griffon promised. More shots completely missed Coco's corpse.
Six sighed, disappointed on his incorrect assumption. "Well… let me get a stick" he requested. Griffon gladly gave a cigarette to his companion. He also made sure to light it too. "Whenever you're ready I guess" Six said before blowing out a puff of smoke.
Just as expected, Griffon killed the son of a bitch on the railroad tracks. He wasted more ammo than he wanted to, but for some reason that helped the carry load. Coco was dead, so the two wastelanders didn't have a choice but to travel lightly.
"Go take what you need from Coco" Griffon told his partner. "Ammo, weapons. I don't care. I didn't like being a trader to be honest, so have at it" Griffon said.
Six shrugged and began looting the supplies on the brahmin. There wasn't really much Six liked. Most of the weapons were worn down varmint rifles and single-shell shotguns. Neither primary weapons were reliable. Thankfully there was a little bit of 9mm ammunition for the courier, but in total Six only had two full magazines. He's just going to have to conserve ammo.
"Sorry it ain't much" Griffon apologized.
"It's fine. We should be focusing on medicine anyways" Six suggested as he started packing stimpaks and med-x. Griffon agreed with this idea.
"Well, by the looks of it, the damn convicts are guarding that building over there" Griffon pointed ahead. A sign hung 'Bison Steve Hotel' over the front doorways. "We don't know how many guys there are, so keep an eye out partner."
Six nodded as he stood up with everything he needed. "Well let's get going" he tells Griffon before taking point with his handgun.
The two were now propped up against the wall, ready to open up the doors into the large hotel. Griffon, using his fingers, counted down from three before slowly and quietly opening the door for Six. The courier immediately entered with his pistol aimed. He snuck up towards a coffee table and flipped it over to use as cover. The lobby was already trashed, and the hallway ahead had several voices speaking to each other. Griffon met up with Six after quietly closing the door. So the good new is that the two had infiltrated the building with ease. Now comes the hard part, to clear the entire thing out.
"You'd think this place would have the most guard since it's ya know, the god damn entrance?" Griffon whispered. Troy couldn't help but agree. At first he'd think of it as a trap, but seeing how the rest of convicts outside were easy pickings, he had a hard time believing that were the case.
Suddenly, the voices from the hallway stopped, and footsteps drew nearer. Six immediately rushed towards the doorway to the hallway, but propped his body up against the wall. He should have told Griffon what he was thinking, because Griffon freaked out and mouthed a bunch of unknown words at Six. The courier tried to calm his companion down with hand signals, which gave Griffon the assumption that Six had got things under control. Hopefully.
The moment a figure appeared in the door way, Six grabbed him by the loose jacket sleeve and put the poor guy in a choke hold. As the poor Powder Ganger struggled to catch his breath, Six squeezed harder and prevented any further form of resistance. It wasn't long until the struggle ceased, so Six would let go of the limp body and watch it fall to the ground.
"Hey Paul, I forgot to ment-" the Powder Ganger's friend appeared through the doorway and froze, noticing both Six and Griffon, then his now deceased friend. "You mother-!" before the raider could further his insult, Six had fired a 9mm round into his gut. As the man prepared to scream, Six finished him off with a shot through the forehead.
"What was that!?" questioned a voice down the hallway.
"Oh shit! Let the boss know!" another one answered.
Griffon sighed. "Great going Six" he said sarcastically before vaulting the table and rushing to the corpses.
Six felt a bit guilty. "My bad..." he weakly apologized.
Thankfully his partner had always been a forgiving guy. Well, so far. "Don't worry about it. These chumps ain't much to deal with anyways" he said before picking up a stick of dynamite. "Watch this" he says to his partner while pulling out a lighter. Running footsteps drew nearer, causing Griffon to act with haste. Once the dynamite was lit, Griffon through it towards the wall, watching it bounced off and out of his vision.
"What the-! Get back get ba-!" A sudden boom filled the hallway, and then silence.
After a while, Griffon broke the silence with his laugh. "I love that reaction" he jokes before looting a full magazine from the raider corpses. "Well now they know we're here. Let's have a bit of fun" Griffon grinned at Six.
"Well... I guess a warm up wouldn't be too bad" Six replied.