The sun was burning bright when the Courier woke the next day. As she stirred, a shadow cast across her face and she opened her eyes to see Vulpes' silhouetted form standing over her.
"About time," he said, "come on, we need to get going."
She sat up as Vulpes passed her some Prickly pear fruit that he must've gone for that morning. Tash hadn't realised how dehydrated she'd been and she savoured each mouthful.
"Where are we headed?" she asked, juices running down her chin.
He looked at her, "I figured you would know that after what you said last night. Seems you know someone who can help us." His last two words were laced with sarcasm. What the fuck is his problem, she wondered?
"Ok, well," she stood up and scanned her eyes over the horizon, "if we head for New Vegas it would be a good start. I've a feeling we're going to need some friends before long, and from there I can put the word out."
Vulpes sighed. "Any friend of yours is unlikely a friend of mine. They're probably not going to be too receptive to my presence."
"Tough shit," Tash said, "that's their problem." She moved her eyes to his. "It should be enough for them that I trust you."
He nodded curtly, completely glossing over her admission. "And what of your new…friend?"
In that moment, it dawned on Tash. "Vulpes…" she paused, raising her eyebrows sardonically, "are you jealous?"
Vulpes turned away and started quickly picking up his things. "Don't be ridiculous, that's absurd. I merely do not know this person, nor do I trust him. If he's a spy of Caesar then he could prove to be very dangerous indeed."
Tash grinned at his attempt to refute her accusation, this is new territory indeed for him, she thought. "Oh I think he's dangerous alright, but Vulpes," she crossed to him and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, his eyes hard once again, "if we get chance, let's hear him out. There's definitely more to him that I'd like to know, that we need to know."
He turned and shrugged her hand from his shoulder. "Let's get moving then."
She picked up her belongings and they set off for New Vegas.
A pair of eyes watched the Courier and Frumentarii leave the deserted shack. They stared with pure hatred at the man with the Fox hat, replacing hatred with disgust when the Courier entered their field of vision.
The man to whom the eyes belonged, belly crawled along the ridge where he was hidden to keep them both in sight. The sun was hot and uncomfortable on his back, but he didn't care. He had one purpose in his mind, and he would carry it through no matter what.
The pair disappeared down a short valley and he took the opportunity to scramble along on his knees to get into position for them coming out the other side. After 10 minutes, he settled himself onto a ledge, just in time to see his quarry climb back onto flat land. Music drifted to him across the plain. He could just make out the words of the familiar tune and it brought a scowl. I hate this fucking song, he thought to himself.
Vulpes and the Courier would soon disappear from his sight, so he backed up to find better ground. As he stood and turned, he felt a cold tug at his neck, which turned to searing heat. He put his hand to his throat and it came away scarlet, dripping in blood. A look of confusion crossed his face as he dropped to his knees. A hooded man stood before him.
"Rest easy, son. This is no longer your fight."
He collapsed forward, the blood draining from the razor thin wound. As he moved from this world to whatever comes next, he could still hear the music in the distance and he realised, he'd never even gotten to hear if spurs jingle jangled at all.
"For the love of Mars, will you turn off that infernal noise?" Vulpes snapped at the Courier, pointing at her Pip-Boy. "Have you no idea of the meaning of stealth?"
She frowned and switched off the radio. "I've managed perfectly well up to now," she said sulkily, "stop being such a misery."
"There's nothing miserable about being vigilant. A group of damn deathclaws could've snuck up on you while you wiggle your head along to those stupid tunes. At least wait until we're holed up somewhere secure before inflicting them on me."
They climbed down a steep slope, and Vulpes held up his hand to stop the Courier. His keen eyes had spotted something in the distance and she focussed on what he was looking at. She recognised the ramshackle buildings across the dirt and pavement.
"It's the Grub n' Gulp." She whispered. "I know the people who run it. Can you see them?"
He crouched down, pulling her with him. "I can see a body lying in the open, but only one. How many should there be?"
"It's run by Lupe and Fitz, nice people. I hope they're ok." She looked around for signs of a threat, but could see none. Vulpes had obviously reached the same conclusion, so he stood up and slowly moved toward the buildings. She followed, eyes darting to anywhere an attack may come from. They cautiously passed by an old bridge, then the Courier hurried across to the body lying by the stall.
"Shit," she exclaimed, "it's Fitz. He's dead." She looked around and spotted another body lying over a table behind a Brahmin pen, half naked, torn clothes on the floor. It was Lupe. Tash was speechless.
Vulpes examined the wounds on Fitz and sighed with disappointment. "This looks like the work of the Legion. The body is a couple of hours cold."
"What heartless bastard would do this to someone?" She found a blanket and covered Lupe to try and provide her some dignity in death. "She was harmless, trying to make a living out of this shit life!" Her hands shook with rage.
Vulpes spun slowly on the spot, eyes scanning everywhere. "Tash."
She ignored him. "I can't believe some people, and to leave her like that. That's beyond disrespect, it's fucking sick!"
"Tash!" Vulpes insisted.
"WHAT?!"
He looked at her. "This is an ambush setup, classic Legion style, with," he nodded in the direction of Lupe's body, "a touch of sadism which isn't so classic. We've got to get out of here."
She stood defiantly. "I'm going nowhere. I want to meet these bastards face to face."
Vulpes face changed to one of consternation as he spotted movement from behind one of the buildings. "Looks like you're going to get that chance."
Tash moved to Vulpes' side as they watched a Praetorian guard walk slowly toward them. From seemingly nowhere, other Legionaries also bore down on them slowly. There were twelve of them that the Courier could see. Vulpes spoke quietly to her. "How many do you think you can take down?"
She whispered back. "With V.A.T.S, probably…four, five at a push. You?"
"With a firearm, maybe four, but I only have my ripper."
Tash sidestepped closer. "I have a spare 10mm tucked into my belt. Take it when the shit goes down, we'll drop as many as we can and break for cover, see what we can do from there. Agreed?"
"Agreed" he replied.
The first Praetorian stopped, some 15 feet from them, the others lined up haphazardly to his left and right. Vulpes thought it unusual as the Legion generally had better organisation than this. At first he wondered if they really were Legion, but he recognised some of the faces before him.
"Vulpes Inculta," the Praetorian spoke slow, with derision, "I'd say it was an honour to meet you, but I'd be lying."
"State your business and be on your way soldier," Vulpes replied, "I am on official business of Lord Caesar."
"My business here is you, and it is of no concern to that pathetic profligate Caesar."
Tash felt Vulpes tense beside her, she attempted to soothe him with a quiet shhh. They needed to see where this was going.
"What do you mean, your business is me?" he asked, forcing calm into his voice.
The Praetorian chuckled. "I'm here to remove you and your whore from this world. Things are changing, and you're not a part of it. You'd be dead right now if I didn't want you to see who it was ending your degenerate life."
Vulpes stared, his eyes calculating. "Who do you serve, if not Caesar?"
"Alas, this is not something I'm going to tell you. Just know, by nightfall, your beloved Lord Caesar will have fallen, and we will take New Vegas as our own, crushing all in our path. Farewell Vulpes Inculta!"
"Vale!" Vulpes shouted in response, reaching for the 10mm Tash had told him about earlier. He drew the weapon and shot the Praetorian right in the forehead, just as he was about to issue an order to his men.
Tash barely had time to be impressed with the shot when she was drawing her own weapon and engaging V.A.T.S. She targeted the heads of three men as they started to scramble for battle. Vulpes shot another Legionary in the face as he pulled his ripper free and rushed in to attack a Legionary assassin who was about to attack with his ballistic fist. He swung the chained blade down into the skull of his foe and it ripped into the flesh and bone, burrowing a good 4 inches into his brain, pulling the goggles from what was left of his face. He let go of the weapon as it stuck, falling with the body of the assassin.
Tash released her shots with unerring accuracy and the three men she'd targeted dropped, their heads, faces and throats exploding as bullets ripped through them. A fourth Legionary grabbed at her and as she spun, she jammed the muzzle of her pistol under his chin and fired, emptying the magazine into him. His dead weight pulled what was left of his jaw over the barrel of the gun and Tash had to wrench it free, pushing the body away from her. She and Vulpes made fleeting eye contact as he killed another soldier and both ran for cover, before the others in the ambush party could fully comprehend what had happened.
As they dropped behind a concrete barrier, Tash quickly reloaded and tossed a fresh magazine to Vulpes. He slammed the clip home, took a deep breath, nodded to the Courier and they stood to face the remaining attackers. They reeled in surprise. The men were dead. Four more dead bodies strewn over the impromptu battlefield, a head severed on one, limbs severed on the others, throats cut.
Before Vulpes could say anything, a hand grabbed his forehead from behind and a blood soaked katana blade appeared at his throat.
"Don't move," a smooth voice spoke into his ear, "I do not intend this as an act of aggression, merely a moment to allow you time to control your adrenaline fuelled vigour. I'd hate for you to loose one of your marvellously accurate shots into me before we'd had time to parley."
"Phoenix," Tash shouted, half raising her pistol, "don't!"
"Fear not, young one," Phoenix replied, slowly stepping back and removing the blade from Vulpes neck, "I did not want to be caught in the crossfire, and figured your Inculta here may not stay his weapon long enough for me to introduce myself."
When the blade was clear, Vulpes spun and pointed the pistol at Phoenix, who with exceptionally quick hands, relieved him of it. He took a step back, bowed and offered the gun back to Vulpes, grip first. "Please Inculta, let's not sully this encounter with pride driven acts. I have neither a point to prove, or a grudge to bear, so accept my apology if I offended you. We should move out of the open and secure accommodation for the evening."
Vulpes looked at Phoenix squarely, and took the gun without comment. Tash lowered hers and winked at Phoenix. "I'm not sure if you show up at the best or worst of times," she looked at the four he'd taken down, "but thanks for the assist."
"Not at all. I've been with you all day, here or there. You had a couple of these…men, watching you from the ridges as you travelled. I dispatched them as we went." He looked to where the body of Lupe was covered. "It's unfortunate we did not put an end to them before they got here. Such acts are unfathomable. I do not know these people, but I would like to take some time to lay them to rest, it's the right thing to do."
Tash nodded, "I agree. They were good people. I'll have a look through their supplies and see if they have something to dig with." She disappeared into one of the buildings. Vulpes looked at Phoenix.
"What is your business with the Courier?" he asked, his voice edgy.
"I don't know entirely yet. My instinct tells me she still has a big part to play in events which are still to unfold. She is a close acquaintance of an old friend of mine, and if she can trust me, it could expedite our reunion."
Vulpes nodded. "Ok, then as long as she trusts you, I'll offer you the same, for now. You've shown yourself true in battle, and that speaks more than words to me."
"Thank you Inculta. It's good to know we aren't enemies. You've come a long way from the reputation you'd built for yourself. Am I to assume the Courier has had something to do with that?"
The Fox chuckled. "You could say that." He turned and entered the building to help Tash look for tools.
Phoenix looked at the bodies littered around. This is going to be interesting, he thought to himself.