Never Far Away
'And the dirt beneath my heels in the road
Obeys command to me and serves me as I go
And though it help to know you're never far away
I can't help wondering how you might feel about me today'
The man in the checked suit fled across the wasteland and the Courier followed.
Along the way she'd picked up a brooding sniper, a sassy drunk, a talkative Brotherhood scribe, a ghoul mechanic, a unpredictably cute eye-bot, a cyberhound that belonged to a king, a Followers Doctor, and a crazy nightkin who seemed to think that they were all of them her Grandchildren.
Base of operations: The Lucky 38, courtesy of Mr House.
Mission: …Well, Six hadn't quite figured that part out yet. One step at a time and all that. It wasn't like she was scared of being face-to-face with Benny again, was it? After all this work, all the effort she'd gone to for that very moment, surely it was foolish of her to be scared? Six was bruised, battle-worn, and a true soldier of the wastes.
She was also frightened to death.
Her Companions sensed her growing nervousness, and one day, whilst in the kitchen, Six found herself confronted by Arcade: "You know, I can't help but feel that you've put this off for too long."
She almost laughed. "Tell me something I don't know, Gannon."
"Well what's the plan then, Boss?"
Raul stepped in, and all of a sudden everyone was there looking at her with wide eyes. Except ED-E of course, who didn't have eyes, and Lily who felt compelled to bake whenever she was near the oven. As the Nightkin bustled about in the background with bowls and an armful of ingredients, the others took their seats at the table and watched the Courier expectantly as she slid into her own chair. In the past she'd brought everyone together here, ever the diplomat and eager for all of them to come to an agreement about some mission or business deal. They were all affable, but for Six that damned kitchen table had become a too-familiar place of tensions, quarrels, and conflicts of interest. They all looked to her to do the right thing, but she wasn't sure if such a thing even existed in her mind anymore.
She laid her hands flat on the table and took a deep breath. "I don't know what to do."
It was quiet, barely audible, and the most stupid she'd felt for a long time.
"I mean, I know I need find Benny and the platinum chip…that's been the plan from the start, right? But then I kind of got distracted by everything else. So many people want my help, and you guys- you guys have done so much for me. We came all the way here and now I-" She let out another sigh, letting her gaze flick over to Boone. His silence unnerved her on a good day, but now his impassivity kind of hurt. "I just really don't know…"
"Talking to this Benny guy can't hurt right?" Veronica broke the silence.
Arcade arched an eyebrow. "He did shoot her in the head."
At the mention of it, Six ran her hand over the scar Benny had so graciously given her. With a grimace she recalled his other little 'gift' - she didn't remember a goddamn thing about her life before those bullets went in. She'd tried writing things down and talking about them, but it was like the first memory she'd ever had was the way he had made her tremble in those few seconds before he shot her.
"We could go with her. Back her up."
Six clenched her fist. Boone. He was so …loyal.
"No no no, you gotta get the guy alone and fucking steal that goddamn chip."
The idea was proposed by Cass, the Courier didn't know how seriously, but it made sense. All this time she'd imagined going in guns-blazing, but the lies-and-trickery approach was just as good, if not better. Arcade was right; it had been put off for too long. Two weeks to be precise.
With a terse nod of the head she acquiesced: "I'll do it then. Tomorrow night."
And so the deal was sealed. No more hiding, if she could face a swarm of Legionnaires without the blink of an eyelid, she could face the fucker who had done this to her.