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Chapter 4
The showdown at Boulder city
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"Will you please turn that damn radio off!" Boone snapped. "I've heard that song three times already!"
"C'mon Boone, this song is amazing!" Kyrie laughed, singing along with the cheerful tune. "I've got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle! As I go right merrily along!" He actually didn't mind the music but did she have to sing along? Not to mention off key.
Boone felt his eye twitch. Why couldn't Mister New Vegas find some new songs?
"I've heard this song three fucking times in under half an hour!" He exclaimed, sounding irritated.
"Alright, alright." She giggled as she shut the radio station off on her pip-boy. Boone sighed in relief. Peace and quiet at last.
'Wonder how much farther?' Kyrie asked, checking the map on her pip-boy once again. 'It says to go that way.' She pointed up a rather steep hill, surrounded by Broc flower plants and cactuses. Boone felt the sweat run his face. It was unbearably hot in ths desert, but he kept moving on, ignoring the burning on his neck. A small tap on his arm made him look down. Kyrie was grinning at him, holding up a spare scarf.
"Here...for you neck." He took it carefully and tried to figure out a way to wear it. The darked hair girl grinned before motioning for him to bend down slightly.
"Not my fault I'm unbelievably short." She grumbled, tying it around his neck, making sure to keep it loose as to not cut off his air ways. That actually felt better, the material was light and not itchy, and aparently was absorbent.
"Thanks." He mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Welcome." She said with a grin, starting to head up the hill. Boone couldn't help but grin slightly, her cheeriness was getting to him.
"C'mon Booner!" She called from on top of the hill. His grin vanished. What did she just call him?
"I'd really prefer if you didn't call me that." He grumbled after trekking up the hill. Kyrie laughed quietly.
"I thought it was hilarious!" She gave his arm an affectionate punch. He decided to ignore the small teen, his gaze falling over the city. Or what was left of it.
Boulder City.
This place...brought back a lot of memories for the sniper. The idea the NCR had was to lure some of Caeser's troops into the city and bomb the hell out of it.
It was effective; but costly. Some good friends of the sniper had died in the explosion.
The city was nothing by this point but a pile of rubble. Only one establishment had survived but they hardly got any business. Not very many people came through this part.
"So this is Boulder city?" Kyrie asked, sounding put off at all the broken buildings and all the rubble.
"Try not to sound so disappointed." He muttered, giving her a hard look.
"Sorry." She said, brushing a few rocks away with her foot.
"It's fine." For some reason, he felt bad for snapping at her. What the hell was going on with him?
Looking around, Kyrie spotted a man wearing a green NCR beret standing at the front of some sort of fenced off area. "Whose that?"
Boone strained his eyes, trying to identify the mysterious person. "I'm not sure...but I'm sure you are going to go over there and find out, right?" Silence met his statement. He rose his eyebrow again. "Kyrie?"
He turned to see her already heading over there. "Figures." He grumbled, jogging to catch up to her.
"Yo, person I don't know!"
The man in the green beret gave the girl an odd look. "Can I help you?"
"I heard from the get go that some Great Khans have come through here, and I believe they may have something of mine."
The NCR lieutenant blinked slightly at her bold attitude. "Well, Miss...?"
"Kyrie Swanson." She said with her usual little grin.
"Well, Miss Kyrie, we've got a situation with said Great Khans and I'm afraid I can't let civilians in until this matter has been resolved."
Boone had finally caught up with his over excited companion. Seeing the Lieutenant, he immediatly stood to full height and saluted. "Sir." He said.
Kyrie gave him a 'Are you serious?' look before shaking her head and turning back to the man. "Anyway, what sort of situation are we taking about? Good, bad, somewhat good, somewhat bad?"
"Well, when you're dealing with Great Khans it's usually, well, bad." Boone rubbed at his temples, feeling yet another headache starting to form. "A couple of my soldiers have been taken captive."
"Ah, well my good.." She stopped in mid-sentence as she glanced at the name tag. "Daniel, it just so happens that I am known as a silver tongue serpent!"
"Silver tongued devil." Boone growled to her.
"Yeah, what he said." Kyrie grinned. "So maybe, just maybe, I can convince them to let them go."
Lieutenant Daniel raised a brow, debating on whether or not to send this girl. Maybe this could work?
"Alright, I'll comply, but once we hear shooting, we're coming in. Got it?"
Kyrie nodded,picking at the dirt under her nails. "Got it." She then handed him her hunting rifle and her bag so it wouldn't weigh her down and headed towards the door.
"Wait, hold on." A large hand clamped down on her shoulder, stopping her. Turning she saw Boone looking...worried? That was a new one.
"What's up?" She asked, giving his hand a smack.
"Okay, one question and I really wanna emphasize on this one when I say, are you fucking INSANE!" She winced at he last word, rubbing out her ears.
"Must you scream?" She sighed in annoyance. "Shockingly, I know what I'm doing. So, I'm doing this, I need information."
"Yeah but it is worth risking your life?" He asked in annoyance.
Kyrie gave him yet another, "Are you serious?", look before flipping her bangs up and pointing at the scar. "I don't have a choice, I have questions and they are the only ones who have answers for me. Boone, you can come with me or you can stay here." She then disappeared behind the makeshift door.
"Yeah, Boone, smooth..real smooth. Kyrie, wait up!" He followed.
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The tension in the clearing was so thick you could literally cut it with a knife. Numerous amounts of NCR personell were crouched down, guns at the ready, preparing for a possible gun down.
Kyrie looked back and forth between the Khans and the NCR, both groups glaring at one another.
"Oh boy, this isn't gonna be easy."
Boone stared down at her, his brown eyes somewhat twinkling. Somewhat. "Told you so."
Kyrie then openly mocked his tone by making an obnoxious face. "Told you so, told you so, shut the hell up." She grumbled, making her way forward, holding her hands up to show she was unarmed.
"The girl can go in, NCR trash stays out here." The female Khan snapped, giving Boone a cold glare. Boone's eyes widened, Kyrie was going in alone?
The Courier shrugged before heading forward, disappearing behind the door where the Khans who had ambushed her that night were.
Don't get yourself killed, Kyrie.
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She regonized the two Khans right away. The mowhawks, the clothes, and the bandana. A stab of fury passed through the small woman as she stalked forward, her chin held high with determination.
"Hello." She said simply, coming into the dim light and crossing her arms.
The Khan with the bandana, Jessup, eyes widened to the size od saucers and he gasped:
"What the hell?" He sounded scared. Kyrie smirked, oh how the table have turned. "Your that courier Benny wasted back in Goodsprings. You should be dead!"
Kyrie glared daggers at the man, her heart pounding fast in her chest. "I got better." She said simply, sitting on the counter top, her green eyes blazing.
Jessup looked impressed, terrified but impressed. "And here I thought us Great Khans were tough to kill." He then took a deep breath, knowing about the situation he was most likely going to find himself in. "So what happens now?"
"Well happens now is that you tell me where the hell the Platinum chip I was delivering is, and I'd do it right about now." She said, her voice low and dangerous.
"Don't have it." Jessup replied, his eyes narrowing. "Benny stole it, right before he stabbed us in teh back." He then started shaking as rage took over. "He's probably back at the strip now, laughing at me."
Making enemies wherever he goes, I'm shocked he isn't dead yet. Kyrie thought to herself as she felt her anger subside.
"That's all I need to know." She said with a smirk, hopping down off the counter top. "But now, what's say we discuss negotiations."
"With who? The NCR? Hey, they back off, we alk out off here, no one gets hurt, simple as that." Jessup snarled.
"I'll tell you what, if you let the hostages go, I'll make sure they escort you off of their territory. How does that sound?"
Jessup looked like he was deliberating with his inner self but then he finally gave in. "Alright, fine, we'll let them go. But those bastards better hold up their end of the deal."
"Deal." She said, holding her small hand out.
xx
It was ten minutes later, a incredibly long ten minutes, when Kyrie exited the room where the Khan Leader was. She looked up at all the soldiers and gave a thumbs up, a smirk on her face as she went to untie the hostages.
Boone let out a breath he had no idea he was holding as Kyrie came back over to him. "Damn, I'm good." She smirked.
As she walked off, Boone felt his eye twitch slightly. Who was this girl?
Following her back to the Lieutenant, the relief in his eyes was clear. "Thank you for getting my men safely out of there."
"Hey, no problemo!" She waved it off. "I got my info, and my next destination. Now, about them.." she jabbed her thumb in the direction behind her, indicating the Great Khans.
"What was the agreement?" Leiutenant Daniel asked.
"They let the hostages go, you escort them back to where they live. Easy as that. And if you had any integrity at all, you'd do it."
The Leiutenant sighed, giving in. "Alright, we'll escort them back to Red Rock Canyon. Thank you for helping us out of this tight jam, Miss Kyrie."
She saluted, sort of, then hefted her bag back onto her shoulder and grabbed her hunting rifle and started on her way to The Strip.
Boone blinked. Now this was getting interesting.
He then kept his steady pace right next to her as they began their long trek to the place that brought back some memories for him.
Pleasant ones.
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FINALLY! This one was giving me hell and half!
I hope I did it right, and yes I did change the title of the quest by a little bit.
Review!