-Chapter 4-
A blonde woman pushed open the door and looked around as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. A few NCR soldiers walked around the bar, seemingly aimless in their purpose. She eyed a redheaded woman sitting in the same spot that she always was, every time she returned to this remote outpost. The blonde Courier smiled and slid onto a stool next to her.
"Shit," started the redhead, and dropped her head to her drink and swallowed what remained in her glass before turning to the blonde and continuing, "You come around like a bad habit."
The blonde nodded and jumped straight to the point, "The Crimson Caravan sent me, they want to buy out your caravan."
Cass sighed. "They want to buy Cassidy Caravans? Don't they know it's burned to ash?" She looked down at her empty glass and said "No," she paused briefly, "Even times being what they are, not sure I'm looking to sell, not even for all the whiskey in Reno."
The Courier was surprised. This was the first she had heard of an attack on Cassidy Caravans. She looked at Cass with genuine concern. "Wait, what happened to your caravan?"
Cass looked for the bartender, who, after making eye contact with the redheaded regular promptly turned to busy herself with sorting out various items under the bar. She swore under her breath then turned her attention to the blonde.
"The Mojave happened...hit by raiders packing some heavy firepower. Can't believe the Crimson Caravan haven't heard." She dropped into a sarcastic tone. "So if you want to buy all of Cassidy Caravans you're looking at it." she snickered, lifting the empty glass to her mouth hopefully before turning and adding "and what I've got in my pockets." She turned to watch the bartender continuing to busy herself. "Still, as little as that is, not looking to sell."
The Courier threw her hands up in exasperation with a loud, over dramatic sigh that drew the attention of several troopers and the bartender. She started in a overly exaggerated frustrated tone. "So, even if you have nothing, you won't sell?" The blonde looked away, pouting. She had had to walk for miles just to get this far and now this she wasn't gonna sell?
Cass said flatly, "If someone came up to you and offered you a thousand caps for your name, would you take it?" After a brief staring contest, Cass looked away and threw her hands up in a sarcastic mockery of the blonde's earlier gesture, saying frustrated, "Actually, you now what? Fuck it, I don't want to hear your answer anyway."
The two women stared in opposite directions and pouted. Cass, after a moment, shook her head and looked over at the blonde and sighed, "Point is, I made the caravan what it is. It's mine."
The blonde looked down and withdrew a slip of paper and placed it on the bar in front of her. "I have the offer letter here. The terms are fair." she looked at Cass and smiled hopefully. Cass picked the paper up and looked it over.
"Alice McLafferty eh?" She looked over the paper and her eyes nearly fell from her head at the generous offer. She shook her head and collected herself before placing the paper on the bar.
"No, I see the zeroes...and I know she's good for them." Cass turned her head to her still empty glass before beginning again, softly. "Still, it's not about the money. Dad'd spin like a twister if he ever heard I sold our name for anything."
The blonde watched her stare at an empty glass, lost in a memory. "Are you sure?"
Cass looked up at the woman then shook her head. "Look, I know you came all this way, and that takes some drive, especially these days." She shifted on her stool to turn to face the Courier. "It just doesn't feel right," she pleaded, "trading history for a piece of paper."
The blonde let out an exasperated growl and rubbed her temple in frustration. She turned back to Cass and half-shouted, "This outpost is the last place you want to be trapped!"
Cass held up an accusatory finger and shouted "That.." she faded into thought, trailing off quietly "that is a good point. It's the caravan clearance that's got me stuck here."She looked at the bartender before saying louder, "I'm sure this bar's getting tired of propping me up." she grabbed the slip of paper and pulled it towards her. She leaned up and grabbed a pen off the shelf and scribbled on the bottom of the paper while saying, "I'll put my name to it. No sense trying to hold the past between your fingers when it's nothing but dirt."
She finished signing her name and slid the paper towards the slightly shorter woman, who picked it up and shoved it into her pants' pocket with an all too happy grin.
Cass couldn't help but laugh and said, "All right, there you go. Caravan's all yours." She lowered her shoulders then shrugged. "Feel kind of relieved, actually. Guess I didn't realize how much I was carrying around with just the name." She stared at her empty glass.
The Courier watched her and thought about giving her a reassuring pat on the back but thought better of it. She thought better of a lot, choosing to eschew the subject of the redhead's past for the time being, and instead asked about the future.
"What will you do now?"
"No idea," she began dejectedly, "maybe..." she paused as though considering her options for the first time. "Head back West?" she started, more to herself than to the woman next to her. "Though the idea of heading back there with my tail between my legs isn't appealing."
The Courier shook her head sympathetically and offered with a weak smile and a shrug, "There are other places to go."
"Where? Like Vegas?" she laughed and shook her head. "Chewed up and spit enough friends out." She started to take a drink from her empty glass, remembered it was still empty and slammed it on the bar, punctuating her thought. "East? Get out in one of Caesar's little 'camps?'" She made exaggerated air-quotes with both hands and knocked the empty glass to the ground, taking no notice of the loud crash as it shattered. "No thanks. " She was getting agitated and her gestures became more wild. She threw her arm out back behind her and half shouted, "Head back West? I already know the Big Circle and everyone in it - 'cept now I go back there, ruined." She paused, taking in the ramifications of what she had said and looked down dejectedly before adding absently. "Never really realized how small the Mojave's getting nowadays, hard to find a place to go to that's worthwhile."
At this the blonde smiled, her mouth curling into a wicked grin. Cass eyed her defensively. The blonde, unable to wipe the grin from her face said, "You could come with me!"
Cass laughed, a deep, genuine, and mocking laugh that took the wind out of the blonde's sails. She pressed on, all the more determined. "If you stay here you know exactly what's going to happen, day in, day out." the woman laughed louder.
"So fighting boredom is your argument huh?" she looked around the room, at the same troopers and bartender that she had seen for what felt like an eternity. She turned back to the blonde, waiting hopefully on the stool next to her. She had to smile at the woman's persistence.
She shook her head, saying wordlessly how little she could believe what she was about to say. "Well, walking the Mojave with you can't be any worse than here, that's for sure." she stood up from the bar and smiled. "All right, I'm in."
The blonde stood up as well and stuck her hand out. Cass took it and the blonde shook vigorously. Cass withdrew her hand and, laughing, said as they walked out of the bar into the blinding light and scorching heat, "So, you got a real name?"
"Sorry Cass," she said grinning widely, "but it's just Courier."
