DARK SECRETS

Kurt McCall looked over his power armor at the repair station. He had shaggy blonde hair, was tall with a medium build and blue eyes. When it came to mechanical repairs, he was an expert. For the electrical repairs, however, he relied upon Alyx Vance. He examined the bullet holes, dents, and frayed metal. Then, Candice walked in with a toolbox. She had long light brown hair, glasses, and freckles on her face. She was dressed in scribe clothing.

"I hope this is all you need," she said.

"Should be, thanks."

"Wow, they did a number on you."

"We'll never know where these raiders keep getting weapons."

"It's not really them I'm worried about, it's the Legion. I heard they have been gaining numbers. People are doing it out of fear or because they want to."

"I guess they want to be superhuman. But I know for a fact it's nothing like the movies or books. Besides, I don't fear them."

Then, a paladin in power armor approached Kurt.

"Hey McCall, you know these two?" He asked.

Kurt saw Dawn and Maddie. Dawn still had her combat armor on and Maddie had removed her face paint. Both had been disarmed.

"Yeah, I know them," Kurt replied.

The paladin nodded and walked away.

"Dawn, what brings you here?" He wondered.

"I have something important to discuss with you," Dawn answered.

"Well, I hate being kept in suspense."

Kurt smiled at Dawn and she chuckled. He looked at Maddie.

"This must be Maddie I presume."

He stuck his hand out and she shook his hand.

"Dawn's ex?" Maddie presumed.

"Oh yeah, so you know," Kurt replied.

"I do."

"Look, I really need to speak with him," Dawn stated.

Maddie looked on, nearly becoming jealous. She could tell Dawn still cared for him. Dawn and Kurt walked out onto the runway. Maddie watched them and became jealous and angry. Candice walked up to Maddie.

"So, how long have you known her?" Candice asked.

Maddie stared at her making her feel uneasy.

"Long enough," Maddie replied.

"Oh, okay."

Dawn and Kurt stood on the runway.

"I worry about you all time," Dawn admitted, "War has created a dangerous world."

"I'm glad you're okay. How's life with the Shadow?"

"Great. I see your power armor keeps you safe."

"It does."

"Everything is good for you, I hope. You look great."

Kurt smiled. Dawn waited for him to tell her the same thing.

"You look good too, Dawn," he finally said.

Dawn smiled.

"Um, you wanted to discuss something with me?" Kurt asked.

"Yes, I did. We were in the gold tower and found this holotape. It says there's a cure being developed here at Nellis."

"A cure? For what?"

"The Legion."

"James sent you to do the dirty work. Look, I don't know anything about a cure. In fact, the only cure I know of is a bullet to the head of those bloodsucking freaks."

"Kurt, I'm serious. I need to find it."

"If I knew anything about it, I would tell you. Honest. The Brotherhood does not hide anything."

"There's a scribe that would probably know. Maybe I should get Maddie to ask."

"Hold on, before you send her to harass my bride to be…"

Dawn looked at him in shock.

"Bride?" She gasped.

"Yeah, I asked her to marry me," he spoke in a weakened tone.

Dawn's heart sunk into her stomach.

"Your future wife," she mumbled.

"Yeah. I want you there at the wedding. Bring Maddie."

Maddie and Candice looked on. Dawn was clearly devastated.

"I also want to help you," Kurt declared, "We're in this together. The Brotherhood, NCR, the Shadow, the citizens. If we can unite, we can destroy the Legion."

All that was on Dawn's mind was the fact she'll never be with Kurt again. She held back her tears. Then, she looked up at him and handed him the holotape. Nearby was a terminal near the solar array.

Candice looked over Kurt's power armor. Maddie sat in a chair near a toolbox and saw Kurt put his hands on Dawn's shoulder as Dawn smiled at him. Maddie had angry look on her face. Dawn and Kurt walked back over to the power armor station. Maddie stood up and held Dawn's arm and held her close. She smiled at Kurt.

"Well, it looks like we got some digging to do," Kurt said.

"What do you mean?" Candice asked.

"There's a lab underneath here. A secret lab. I think I know where it is. In the hangar, there is a secret entrance."

"A lab for what?"

"The cure to end the Legion," Dawn added, "Or at least ruin any chance of a hostile takeover."

"Wait, if there is a cure, why is it being kept down there, why not use it?" Candice questioned.

"That's what we intend to find out."

"We just need to send someone in," Kurt suggested, "Someone who has covert skills."

Dawn looked at Maddie.

"Why me?" She asked.

"You can get in without being noticed," Dawn assured, "We just need the cure."

"I heard you were good, Maddie," Kurt commented, "Be silent, but don't kill no one. Don't even knock them out."

"Wait, I never agreed to this."

"Can, I speak with her?" Dawn asked.

Kurt nodded. Dawn and Maddie walked onto the runway. Maddie scurried away from her and then turned around.

"What the hell?" Maddie scoffed, "Why should I do this? For him?"

"Maddie look…"

"You still love him."

"No."

"I can see it in your face. You can't let go of him."

"This is not about him. This is about what we need to do to stop New Vegas from becoming Legion territory. If they takeover, we'll be at their mercy. Maybe we'll be dead."

"What if there is no cure?"

"That is what we intend to find out."

Dawn put her arms around Maddie.

"Do it for me," Dawn calmly stated.

Maddie smiled.

"Fine," she agreed, "But it is over between you two."

Dawn laughed and hugged her.

"Of course it is," Dawn replied, "They're getting married. I don't need to love him, I have you."

Maddie kissed Dawn. They engaged in lip lock for a while. Kurt looked on. He was not sure if he should be jealous or happy.

Maddie walked down the steps and into the dark underground hallway. She had a headset with her and managed to sneak a small curved knife pass the check in. It was cold and quiet. As she moved through the brick tunnel, her footsteps could be heard.

"Remember, don't kill anyone, in fact, avoid anyone you may see down there," Kurt instructed over the headset.

She wanted to tell him to shut up. It could have been jealousy, but she had no reason to like him. On the way to Nellis, Dawn told her that she met Kurt a few weeks back after he rescued her in the desert. She should have been thankful that he had saved the life of Dawn, but after seeing him and her together, she became envious. There were no doors along the hallway until she reached a large one ahead of her.

"Okay, there a large steel door in front of me," Maddie said to Kurt, "I'll try and open it."

"Slowly, don't draw attention," he told her.

Maddie mouthed the word 'asshole.' She was about to open the door but someone was opening it from the other side. The door swung open and a man in a white lab coat walked out towards the hangar. Maddie hid behind the door and held it open. She entered the area and hid inside an empty room.

"Someone in lab coat is headed your way," she whispered.

"There really is something down there? Okay, we'll be on the lookout," Kurt replied, "Are you in?"

"Yeah, I haven't got a good look at the place yet. I'll check it out."

She slowly snuck out of the empty room and saw four scientists at the lab counter. One was filling syringes with a green liquid. Another was mixing the formula. A female scientist was examining a red liquid, possibly blood. The other scientist was typing something on the terminal. Maddie wanted to knock them all out, get the cure, and leave. If they never saw her, she thought, no one would know.

"Kurt, let me take them out," Maddie argued.

"Negative."

"They'll never see me."

"Negative. Wait for an opportunity."

"I won't kill them. They are putting the cure inside a briefcase. I can get it."

"Maddie, just follow the plan okay," Dawn told her.

Maddie put her hand on her face and shook her head.

"We don't even know if it's actually the cure," Dawn continued, "You need to find out."

Dawn did have a point, Maddie thought to herself. She could listen in to their conversations, but they remained quiet. Getting on the terminal may take too much time and creating a diversion may not be too effective.

Inside the hangar, Dawn saw the scientist looking through a cabinet. She saw the alarm speakers on the wall.

"We need to set off the alarms," Dawn advised, "That could draw out the scientists."

Kurt looked at the terminal.

"Good idea," he said, "Log on the terminal, the password is 'AD VICTORIAM.'"

Dawn logged on and saw the option for the alarms. A few seconds later, the alarms sounded. Dawn and Kurt hid inside the large bomber. Underground, the scientists heard the alarm and ran out of the lab.

"Maddie are the scientists leaving?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah."

"Now's your opportunity."

Dawn and Kurt laid on the floor of the bomber. The seats had been removed. They stared at each other and leaned in closer. Then, they backed away.

Maddie was at the counter and opened a brown leather carry bag. Inside were syringes filled with green liquid. She went over to the terminal which was left unlocked. The scientist was recording the progress made on the cure. They had reached the last stage and it was proven through a test that the cure had worked. It was tested on a subject that was captured and released after the cure was tested. Maddie took a few syringes and placed them in the carry bag. She ran as fast as she could out of there and into the hangar. The alarm stopped and Maddie hid behind a metal cabinet. She saw the scientists walk back into the lab. Dawn and Kurt got out of the bomber. Maddie appeared behind them with the bag.

"Looking for this?" She said.

Maddie handed Kurt the bag. He set it on the table and opened it. Inside was the green liquid.

"Holy shit, it's really there," Kurt cheered.

"But does it work?" Dawn asked.

"It does," Maddie answered, "They tested it and it actually cured someone."

"One question that bothers me is, why do they keep this hidden?" Dawn asked.

"Not sure, but do we have the formula?" Kurt wondered.

Maddie held up a folded piece of paper.

"Thanks Maddie," Kurt said, "We couldn't have done it without you. Now we have the one piece that will destroy the Legion."

Kurt took some of the syringes. He looked at the formula and wrote down a copy of it. He took a syringe and stared right at it. Dawn became suspicious. She closed the bag and handed it to Maddie.

"I'll meet you outside," Dawn said to her.

Maddie took the bag and left.

"The Legion's demise begins now," he claimed, "We need to find a way to mass produce it."

"You knew about it; you knew all along about the cure," Dawn suspected.

"What are you…?"

"You had to keep it secret. When I asked about it, you pretended to be surprised. Being with Maddie for so long, I began to pick up some of her traits."

"Dawn look…"

"You were a little over eager to get the cure. I heard the nervousness, the excitement in your voice."

"All right look, sorry I lied to you. There was no way for me to go down there, I could not risk it."

"So, you needed someone like Maddie."

"Yeah. The cure is important to me, just as it is to you, just as it is to the Mojave. I don't know why they don't make it public, but I know they plan on mass producing this. This amount of cure alone won't bring down the Legion."

"Why do you say it's important to you?"

Kurt looked behind him and then back at Dawn.

"I know the formula works," he said, "Candice, she used to be one of them."

"One of the Legion?" Dawn said in shock.

"I was out hunting them a few years back when they were not in large numbers. I saw her alone in the desert after we killed a whole pack of them. I decided to capture her and bring her here. The cure was in the early stages, but it worked. I never knew where they took her after that or if they even had a cure. Then, she was wondering alone on the runway. She was cured. She became a different person."

"And you fell in love with her."

Kurt nodded.