Author's Note
Sorry about the delay on this one, I know I said everyday, but it is winter break where I live, and I've been relaxing and not worrying about school. I've also played the Dead Money DLC for Fallout New Vegas. Personally I would rate it 3/5, just because of bugs I ran into while playing it. Fallout New Vegas is one of the buggiest RPGs I've played to be honest. Don't let that dissuade you from buying it though. It very much adds to the story of new Vegas with insight on the Mojave Brotherhood (Spoiler?)
Desertstar87: I'm still wondering how to get Cass in. I was going to do it in this chapter, but decided against it.
yrwelikthis: I'm afraid Ten of Spades is out of the question, but I do agree he's quite cool.
rovedbaxster: Yes Arcade will be a yes. I was debating it, and then realized I could explore the Enclave with him, bring up some stuff with Sam as well.
TiredTired: I decided to bring in Arcade, reasons mentioned above. Sorry, but you can't please everyone :)
Dark Flygon Naxi: I will include the Remnants through Arcade eventually, as I quite like the Remnants.
deadman4: I will not be giving anyone the Chinese Stealth suits, though I might include it somewhere.
Everyone: I am trying to make the chapters longer, instead of more chapters. Let me know what you think. The next chapter will have a Texas Hold'em poker scene, which I have been DYING to put it. The scene will include Benny, Vulpes Incluta, Beth, and Sam, representing himself, the Legion, Mr. House, and the NCR, respectively. Don't ask too much about it, I have it planned out. Thank you for reading, enjoy.
Sam and Boone waited at the small apartment room for Beth. She was nowhere to be found. Together, Boone and Sam had collected a total of 1000 caps after collecting the bounties as well as exchanging the money Betsy had given Sam for caps. That left them at around 200 caps short of their goal. They could always sell some guns for more caps however. Boone had gone back to being his silent, emotionless self again, which left Sam bored, changing his Pip-Boy display colors back and forth, deciding to go with white eventually. He had taken off his helmet and left it on the table where there was still a can of pork and beans. He checked his Pip-Boy for the time. 8:37 pm. Sam had started to get worried, but then he saw her burst through the door, holding 4 pieces of paper in her hand. Someone was behind her, wearing a white lab coat. He had short blonde hair, with glasses. Boone and Sam immediately raised their guns.
"Put your guns down. This is Arcade. I convinced him to join our little party." Beth said smiling. Sam looked to Boone, who was still aiming his gun at Arcade. Sam lowered his and Boone did the same.
"We're going to need some place to stay if we're going to keep having people join us Beth." Sam said.
"This is all it's going to be for now." She promised. Sam nodded, and went over to Arcade, sticking his hand out. Arcade shook his hand, looking at the Chinese Stealth Armor with interest.
"My name's Sam." He said. Arcade turned to Boone, but he stay slouched against the wall, gazing down at Arcade from behind his sunglasses.
"Boone." He said tonelessly.
"Great! Now that we know each other I have some good news." Beth said. Sam raised an eyebrow. "I was in Freeside the whole day, helping out some people called the Kings. I met Arcade along the way. We settled an NCR dispute with them and managed to get them to agree to a treaty. In turn for helping them, the King gave me passports to the Strip!"
She held up the four piece of paper. Then, Sam realized they were little hand booklets labeled: Passport.
"So Boone and I just spent the whole day killing Fiends for nothing?" Sam asked.
"Not for nothing." Boone said quietly. Sam realized he was right. They did a good thing today, he realized. Without leadership from Cook-Cook, Violet, and Driver Nephi, the Fiends would be in disarray.
"If I may inquire, what DO you guys do?" Arcade asked suddenly. Beth turned to him.
"Sam and Boone are along for the ride. We're looking for the guy who shot me." Beth said.
"And who are you guys with? The NCR?" he asked.
"No. We're not with them. Though Sam here-" Beth said pointing to him. "Is with the Brotherhood."
Arcade shook his head, as if Sam were a bad kid who needed to be kept in line by his parents.
"The Brotherhood horde technology. I'm surprised someone smart like you would travel with someone like him." Arcade said to Beth. Sam grew angry. He lunged at Arcade, grabbing him by his shirt, picked him up and slammed him against the wall.
"I don't know what the Brotherhood here in the Mojave do. But in the Capital Wasteland, they were heroes. They could've ran back to the West as soon as they found the technology they were looking for. But they didn't. They stayed and helped the people in need. So get it through your thick head that you can't judge people by their associates." Sam growled. He let go of Arcade and grabbed his helmet, putting it on and opening the door to the apartment room they were in. He turned invisible, and stomped off into the distance. Beth turned to go after him, but Boone stopped her.
"Leave him, he'll come back." The grizzled sniper said. Beth ignored him and pushed past his hand, chasing after Sam.
The night air was cool and crisp. Sam removed his helmet and took a big gulp of the air. He thought about what had just happened, and how he had let his anger get the better of him. He spit to his side, disgusted. For a few minutes, he just stood there, looking up into the night sky. He remembered when it had been so simple. Go to the Mojave, find Vault 21, learn about his parents. He wondered why he had followed Beth in the first place. There was something…different about her than the other people he had met in the Mojave.
"Are you okay?" she asked uncertainly. He sighed.
"I guess." Sam said.
"Well…tomorrow we're going to head on in to the Strip. If you still want to come with us…" Beth's voice trailed off. Sam sighed and looked into the sky again. His eyes began to water, but he sucked it up and turned back to Beth.
"I think I'm going to go." Sam said. The news hit Beth hard. She was shocked.
"But Vault 21 is in the Strip!" she pleaded. "You can come with me and we could-"
"No Beth. I'm sorry. I need time to think. Do things by myself for a while." Sam said. Beth stood there, eyes gazing up at him. For a moment they stood still under the moon. And then Sam pushed past her and walked back to the apartment room. Beth stood there silently, as she watched him go.
Sam entered the room, immediately packing his things. His bedroll was stuffed in first, along with some bottles of water and food being shoved in afterwards. He also shoved in ammo for his Blackhawk and hunting rifle. He tried to pack as quickly as possible, avoiding gazes from Boone and Arcade.
"You leaving?" Boone's voice asked. Sam turned to him and nodded. Boone tossed him something. A sack. It made a jingling noise as it flew threw the air into Sam's hand. Sam opened it, revealing the caps the two had made.
"Are you sure?" Sam asked. There were over 1000 caps in the sack. Boone nodded.
"You're going to need it more than me." Boone said. He reached to the table, and pulled a passport from the stack that was on the table. He handed it to Sam. "Might as well take this too."
Sam nodded, and the two shook hands. He ignored Arcade in the corner of the room, and slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left the room, not knowing what he would be looking for.
After a couple hours of wandering he finally decided on heading to Freeside. He wasn't sure about it at first, but realized he needed a place to stay, as it was still nighttime. He ended up wandering into the Kings. He found it funny how they all dressed, talked, and looked the same. The King had greeted him as he walked in.
"Well look who we have here!" The King said enthusiastically. Sam looked confused.
"Um…who are you?" Sam asked. The Kings members laughed at his remark. The King silenced them with a wave of his hand.
"The name's the King. What're you here for?"
"My name is Sam. I kind of need a place to sleep for the night." Sam said. His remark made the King's laugh again.
"Son, you best be headed for the Atomic Wrangler, get a girl to go with your bed while you're at it eh?" the King said. The Kings once again laughed wildly. Sam was starting to get annoyed. "Although, if you're in for some caps and a room for the night you could help me with something."
This brought the rest of the Kings into silence. They were curious to find out what their leader could possibly want with an outsider that they couldn't do.
"What do you want?"
"My dog, Rex hasn't been feeling too up lately. Think it might have something to do with his brain. If you ask Julie Farkas for me at the Old Mormon Fort, I'll give you a place to rest for the night."
Sam nodded, and agreed to set out at once. There was work to be done.
Beth liked to think of Arcade as an addition to the team, and not a replacement to Sam. Although he was quite chatty, and annoying with his know-it-all attitude, but he did know a lot of things, which Beth found to be quite useful. The trio walked up to one of the Securitrons protecting the gate to the Strip. Beth handed it all of their passports. The Securitron gazed over them for a minute.
"Your faces have been added into the database. You may proceed." Said the Securitron. Beth shuddered at the robotic voice. When they were inside, Arcade whispered to her.
"Were those passports real?"
"Of course not!" she said laughing. Arcade seemed surprised and shocked. Boone let out a low chuckle. Beth took a moment to look around at her surroundings. To her right was a casino called Gomorrah, with women wearing revealing clothes dancing for drunken NCR men. To her left was a large tower, the Lucky 38 casino. In fact, she had seen it many times, on their way to New Vegas, as it was quite tall. There was another gate, which she was about to go through when a Securitron cut her off. Unlike the other Securitrons, this one had a different face on its screen. The face of a cowboy.
"Well howdy there! Long time no see!" Victor greeted.
"What the hell? Victor what are you doing here? I thought you were in Goodsprings?"
"I'm not limited to one body madam. And Mr. House would like to see you in the Lucky 38, as soon as possible!"
Boone and Arcade were shocked, although Boone's face was still emotionless. What could the great Mr. House want with a Courier?
"Okay, I'll go there now." Beth said. She followed Victor, leading her to the Lucky 38 casino. When they entered, there were more Securitrons inside. Arcade looked uneasy around the robots. Victor led them to the elevator, pressed a button and the door opened. They all cramped inside, with Victor taking up most of the space. He pressed a button and hummed a tune as the elevator rose. They finally arrive at the topmost floor, with Victor announcing happily,
"Penthouse floor!"
They were escorted to a large computer screen. For a moment, it was blank, which left Beth confused. Then, the dark screen burst to life with an image of a man in his thirties, with a mustache. The picture looked pre-war as well. A voice came from the screen.
"Hello there. I see Victor has shown you in." the voice said. The three were shocked. A talking computer? "My name is Mr. House. At least, that's what everyone calls me."
Beth managed to gain control over her voice. "What do you want?"
"What I want? Your name is Bethany Johnson, age 19. You are Courier number 6, are you not?" asked Mr. House.
"Uh…yes I guess I am." She said.
"Then where is the platinum chip?" Mr. House said. Beth gave him a blank stare. "Your package that you were to deliver, where?"
"I…I don't know. A man shot me in the head in a checkered suit. His name is…Benny I believe?" Beth said uncertainly. "He must've taken it."
A sigh came from the computer screen. "Benny lives in the Tops. You could say he's the boss of the Chairmen. It won't be easy for you getting the chip back."
"Wait, excuse me. Me?" Beth asked surprised.
"Of course. You have no idea how important the platinum chip, your package is." Mr. House said.
"What do I get in return? What's from stopping me from just leaving here now?"
"Well, for one the Securitrons are under my control. I could order them to kill you, as I can order them to assist you." Mr. House replied. On queue, the Securtrions aimed their machine gun arms at Beth, Boone, and Arcade.
"And if we help you?" Beth said back. There was a giant lump in her throat.
"Why, you and your companions are free to use the Lucky 38 as residence. The Lucky 38 has clean water, beds, food, and protection if you need it." Mr. House said.
Beth thought to herself. What did she have to lose? They had nowhere to go. And here she was, being offered hospitality, and a job.
"Al right. I'll look for your chip." Beth said.
"Excellent. There is no rush however, as Benny has probably locked himself in the Tops, with no intention of leaving. Until you decide to go, you may explore the Lucky 38, if you wish." Mr. House said. There was no excitement in his voice however. It was toneless, but unlike Boone he sounded more machine than a man. Victor seemed happy to escort them out. They all cramped inside the elevator again, this time only going down one floor. Victor gestured for Beth to exit, but stopped the others as they began to exit as well.
"This used to be The Presidental Executive Suite. Before the war, Mr. House and his Wife used to sleep here." Victor explained. The room was quite large, with three doors. One was labeled Bathroom. Another room's door was open, revealing a large queen sized bed. The room was richly decorated,
"Is this mine?" Beth asked, feeling small.
"Well, this suite is meant to be shared. Mr. House actually recommended this suite for you. It would be rude to refuse." Victor said.
"What about my friends? Where will they sleep?" Beth asked.
"There are many more rooms and suites in the Lucky 38. There is only one more bed in this room, which I believe is not enough for two grown men." Replied Victor. Arcade turned red, but no one noticed but Beth. Boone and Arcade were led back into the elevator, where they were then brought to the next bellow level.
Beth flopped down on the bed, kicking off her boots. She looked around at her surroundings. There was another door in the room, which turned out to be a closet, not that she had much clothes anyways. There was a drawer to her right at the wall, in reach of her lying on the bed. She dug out a few syringes of Med-X out of the bottom of her backpack and stuffed them in the top shelf of the drawer. She checked her Pip-Boy for the time. 11:40. She just laid there for a while, staring up at the ceiling, and decided to wash her self. She stripped out of her clothes, and walked to the Bathroom, where she found a shower and a bath. The water was cold on her skin, but slowly turned hot. There was soap and shampoo, which she gladly used to clean her skin and wash her hair. She just stood in the shower for some time, letting the hot water hit off of her, steam rising. It was a while before she came out.
Sam woke up, sun hitting his face through a window. He ate a quick meal of beans and water and met the King down in the lobby. His dog was next to him.
"Here's Rex. Now Jacobstown is in the mountains, which is remotely west of here. I'll mark it on your Pip-Boy for you." The King said. The dog, Rex looked tired, but gleefully licked Sam's gloved hand while the king put in the coordinates of Jacobstown on his Pip-Boy.
"Well look at that." The King stated. "He already likes you. Here are a few things you're going to need to know about Rex here. He hats rats. And hats. No idea why. He doesn't really need to be fed a lot, but he loves Brahmin steak, so go talk to Pacer afterwards about that."
"I'll be back with Rex as soon as I can." Sam said shaking the King's hand. The trip would be a long one, judging from his Pip-Boy. It would take him a full day to get to Jacobstown, more if he couldn't find a path through the mountains. Pacer grudgingly handed him a few Brahmin steaks in a paper bag, which Sam put into his pack. There was a click as he put on his helmet, fully encasing him in the Chinese Stealth Armor. The King urged Rex to follow Sam, which he did happily.
"You know, you remind me of a dog I used to know." Sam told Rex. Rex barked happily again, following Sam out the door.
A few hours later of walking and talking with Rex, Sam realized it had been a long time since he had talk to a dog. It was nice, having someone to talk to, who didn't say anything back.
"-and then she brings along some anti-Brotherhood dick. Who, by the way looked like the biggest fag I've seen in my life. Not that I have anything about gay people." Sam told Rex. The dog gave a bark, which Sam took as an "I know what you mean". Around noontime he tossed Rex a large Brahmin steak. The dog ate it happily while Sam chewed a Brahmin steak as well, drinking a Sunset Sarsaparilla as a beverage. The rest of the day was spent walking up a mountain path to Jacobstown. The only things that Sam and Rex came upon were insects, mostly giant mantises and the occasional radroach. Sam didn't even have to draw one of his weapons as Rex easily ripped the insects apart. He saw the town as Rex and him broke through to a clearing. Wooden logs were walls to Jacobstown. He saw a Super Mutant, and grew uneasy. Jacobstown was a peaceful settlement, wasn't it? The King hadn't lied to him just to get rid of him and Rex, had he?
A large hand waved to him. A Super Mutant's arm. Sam cautiously walked towards it, hand on the Blackhawk. But the Super Mutant was unarmed, with an assault rifle on it's back. The Super Mutant spoke.
"Hello. Welcome to Jacobstown. My name is Marcus, what brings you here on this fine day?" greeted the Super Mutant.
"My name is Sam, I'm here to see Doctor Henry." Sam said. "Uh…is Doctor Henry a…Super Mutant?"
"No, he's human like you."
"How about…" Sam said thinking. "Neil! Is he here?"
"Ah Neil. Yes, he told me of what happened at Black Mountain. You are the human who helped him?" Marcus asked. Sam nodded. "I'm glad to hear that place has gone to rest. Go in to see Doctor Henry then, I'd advise not to talk to any Nightkin though."
Sam nodded and waved for Rex to follow him. The cyberdog barked at Marcus before following Sam. He didn't like the smell of this place. Sam guessed Doctor Henry must've been in the main house, or the lodge. A few Nightkin gave him glares as he passed them, but he ignored them to his best ability, not making eye contact. Sam finally met Doctor Henry, who turned out to be quite an old man who had a ghoul assistant named Calamity.
"Are you Doctor Henry?" Sam asked. The Doctor jumped at his voice, glasses falling off his face. He angrily put them back on.
"Yes. Who are you?" Doctor Henry asked. He seemed to be impatient, so Sam got right to the point.
"This cyberdog, Rex seems to have something wrong with him. Could you check him out?"
The Doctor sighed, and went to Rex. His eyes immediately stopped at Rex's brain case.
"There's the problem!" the Doctor said throwing his hands up in the air. "His brain is bad."
"Bad?" Sam asked incredulously.
"Yes, it's old. Really old. If you want the dog to feel better, I'm going to have to perform surgery, but I need a new brain for your dog." Doctor Henry said.
"Where can I get uh…a dog's brain?" Sam asked, slightly disgusted.
"That's lucky for you. Old Lady Gibson sent me her dog, Rey quite a while ago. It died of course, couldn't survive the cold of the mountain tops here." Dr. Henry said. Sam agreed in silence. It had been cold going up the mountain, but his Chinese Stealth Suit kept him warm.
"So…could you start the surgery now?" Sam asked hopefully. Dr. Henry raised an eyebrow.
"Do you think I'm going to fix your dog for free?" he asked seriously. Sam sighed, and prepared himself for another grueling task to get another one done. Then the Doctor laughed. "Of course I will. It'll take a couple of hours though, you're probably going to want to stay the night, unless you want to freeze over."
"Thanks Doctor. Where can I stay?"
"Here, in the clinic. You can take one of the hospital beds if you'd like."
Sam thanked him again, and laid himself down on the hospital bed, closing his eyes. He fell asleep instantly.
Beth awoke the same morning as Sam, under the sheets of her new, soft, and comfortable bed. She realized all she had on was a towel, wrapped around her torso covering her breasts, the bottom hanging over her hip. She threw the towel off, and covered herself with the bed sheets, closing her eyes. She wanted to go back to sleep. Another hour passed and she awoke again. There was knocking at her door. It sounded more like someone was knocking with a tin can. She gathered up the sheets and covered herself, opening the door from the side. It was Victor. He was holding a large tray, with a large assortment of food. He seemed to finally notice her, behind the door.
"I have your breakfast ma'am. May I come in?" inquire Victor. Beth nodded and the securitron rolled in, placing the tray in the middle of her bed before rolling out, closing the door behind him. Beth was alarmed but went to the tray of food nonetheless. There was a large glass of orange juice, as well as an omelet, still hot. Beth dug in hungrily, devouring the food like a wolf. She was done with the food quickly, also chugging done the glass of orange juice. She couldn't remember the last time she had a good meal. She looked around for her clothes, and found her leather armor, boots, and undergarments discarded on the floor. She dressed, noticing a tear in her armor and decided to wear a pair of jeans and a tank top instead. As she finished tying her boots, another person knocked at her door. This time, she knew it wasn't Victor. It was a human's hand knocking. She opened it, revealing Boone and Arcade.
"You ready to take out that Benny guy?" Boone asked gruffly.
"I suggest you don't go in there charging with guns blazing. It could end up quite badly for you." Arcade said. "And us."
"Guys, relax. We have plenty of time to plan for getting that platinum chip. Now since I think we're in New Vegas, I believe we should…gamble a little." Beth said, smiling at her last words. Boone sighed and shook his head.
"I'm going to go take a walk around outside the Strip. I'll be back later." Boone said, entering the elevator. Arcade joined him, saying,
"Might as well explore around this place. See if they're a few books Pre-War books around."
The elevator door closed on them, and Beth saw the number above the elevator door change, going down in order. She went back into her room, digging in her backpack. She pulled out a few small pouches of caps. By rough estimate, she guessed there were around 300 caps in total. She poured them all into one sack, and started to wait for the elevator. It seemed to take a long time for the number to get to 1. Halfway through waiting, she turned back into the room, grabbing her .357 magnum Lucky. She also took a syringe of Med-X, and injected it into herself, enjoying the relaxing feeling of the Med-X. She took another syringe for later before leaving the room, looking for a casino.
Gomorrah. The casino that smells of beer and sex. And that's what keeps it's customers coming back and back. As soon as she entered, a man in a suit wearing shades immediately asked her for all her weapons, assuring they would be returned. He also asked her if she was interested in a job, which she said she wasn't. She exchanged all of her caps for a total of 342 chips. There was a game going on in the top left corner or the gambling area. Beth walked over to the table, and saw they were play Texas Hold'em, a pre-war card game. She hadn't recognized it the last time she had been here. Had she ever been here? She wasn't sure. She watched the gamblers play for a while. Eventually, she asked the head of the floor to explain to her the rules. It was simple enough. Two cards dealt out each. Matching Pairs, Straights, and Flushes. Eventually when she thought she had it down, she went over to the table, sitting down in an empty stool.
"I'd like to play." She said, arms leaning on the table, with a grin on her face.
It was near midnight when Sam awoke. He had felt something licking his hand. Dogmeat? When he opened his eyes he realized he was still in the Mojave Wasteland, and that it was Rex who was licking his hand. The case that held his old brain now held a newer one, but as far as he could tell there was no difference. His thighs and calves protested as he stood up from the bed. He gave Rex a pat on the head. Doctor Henry was in the room still, cleaning up from the surgery. Sam gave him his thanks again and began to leave. He wanted to get out of Jacobstown as soon as possible. Neil and Raul intercepted them on their way out.
"Long time no see my friend." Greeted Neil. He took Sam's much smaller hand in his, shaking it.
"How are things for you two?" Sam asked.
"Well. The Nightkin here are better than Tabitha and the ones at Black Mountain, but they're still the same old Nightkin."
"I'm glad you two are happy." Sam said sincerely. He turned with Rex and started to leave. Neil caught his arm and turned him back around.
"Listen," Neil said seriously. "If you ever need something, anything, come here. Raul and I owe you."
Knowing it was foolish not to accept, he nodded. Just as they were going to leave, Marcus marched up to them.
"NCR mercenaries up by the gate." Marcus told them. "Look, human, I know you didn't come here to help us, but could you convince them to leave us?"
"What? Why? Can't you just kill them?" Sam asked.
"That'll just give them an excuse to send more people here and destroy Jacobstown. Please human, help us." Pleaded Marcus. Sam nodded. He walked to the gate, confronting the mercenaries. Rex followed him, barking. All the mercenaries wore combat armor, with an assortment of assault rifles. Did they really think they could take on the Super Mutants? One of the mercenaries came up to Sam.
"You with these muties?" he asked roughly.
"Maybe I am." Sam replied confidently. "Leave them alone. You don't want to do this."
"Why the hell not? I'm getting paid for this man." Said the mercenary. Beneath his helmet Sam rolled his eyes. The mercenary drew his assault rifle. "Why don't you get the hell out of here before you get hurt eh?"
Sam moved quickly, drawing his katana in one fluid motion and slicing the mercenaries gun in half. He turned invisible just as fast, leaving the mercenaries confused. He appeared to their right suddenly, punching one of the soldiers in the face. When they turned he was gone.
"Unless you want me to actually kill you, I suggest you leave." Said Sam. The voice came from behind the mercenaries, but they couldn't see him.
"Fuck, Norton this guys a fucking monster. Let's get out of here man when we have the chance." Said one of the mercenaries to another. It appeared Norton was the leader, the one that Sam had sliced his gun in two. Norton must've agreed as he started running, with his fellow mercenaries in tow. Sam reappeared after they left, calling out.
"You can go tell whoever hired you to go eat dung! I'll be after him!" Sam called out. Marcus stomped over to him.
"I cannot thank you enough human. If you ever need Jacobstown's help, we'll have your back." Marcus said gratefully.
"My name is Sam. Why do the NCR want Jacobstown so bad?"
"It's not that they want it, they just don't want us in it. Most people don't bother coming all the way up here though, this is a rare thing."
"Why send mercs though? Why not just send some of their troops?"
"I guess it's just easier." Marcus said. There was a pause and the only sound that was heard was the wind. "Are you leaving?"
"Yes, I will be. Have to return Rex here." Sam said indicating to Rex. Marcus nodded and let the two be on their way as they left the Super Mutant's town in the mountains with the moonlight shining down on them.
A day later, Norton and his band of mercenaries reported back to Camp Golf, where they had been hired. And the man who had hired them was not happy.
"What the hell? I thought I told you to wipe out those muties?" yelled the officer. Norton cowered at the man's rising voice.
"Fuck man. There was this guy, had a dog too." Norton said trying to regain his composure.
"ONE MAN AND A DOG SCARED YOU GUYS OFF?" The officer's face was turning red with fury.
"Listen!" Norton said backing up. "That guy is a monster, I'm telling you. Wore some kind of black armor suit or some shit. Freaking turned invisible too. Couldn't fucking see the guy. He would've killed us too, but he let us go."
The officer scratched his chin, as if he was thinking. "I want you to follow this…man. Track him, find out his weaknesses."
Norton nodded multiple times, breathing a sigh of relief as the officer left, leaving him and his mercenaries to themselves. He motioned for his mercenaries to listen.
"Okay, listen up. This guy…I don't want to mess with him. Fuck man, should've never accepted this job in the first place. I'm out."
All of the mercenaries agreed, fleeing Camp Golf as fast as possible. The NCR could handle their own problems.
Freeside was different then the last time Sam had been there. He saw more Kings patrolling the streets with handguns at their sides. There was even another Kings member outside the base of the Kings, guarding the door. They let Sam in only after his arguing was loud enough for the King himself to hear. The King stepped out himself, asking him to quite down.
"What's with the yelling?" asked the King.
"Rex is all fixed up." Sam said. He motioned for Rex to go forward, back to the King. He sat down and stayed put, barking once. The King laughed out loud.
"Ah Rex. Good old Rex. Tell you what. Keep Rexie. He could use the adventure. Not much happens around here anyways."
"Are you sure?" Sam asked uncertainly. It felt wrong to take someone's dog, especially someone he didn't know very well. Then again, Rex seemed to like him.
"Positive." The King said with his trademark grin. He tossed Sam a bag full of caps as well. "For all the trouble."
"Trouble?"
"You know, with them NCR folks."
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked confused.
"There have been a bunch of NCR troops looking for you. Figured you'd know."
"Why would they be looking for me?" Sam wondered. Then he remembered, back in Jacobstown. It would have been better just to kill them, he thought. "Shit. Is there some kind of bounty on my head or something?"
"No, they didn't say anything of the sort. Why? What did you do?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it." Sam said turning with Rex in tow. The King could only wonder who this man was, and what did he do.
Far away from the Strip, at the Fort, Caesar's base of operations, a Vulpes Inculta calmly told Caesar of his report.
"Nipton was burned to the ground, as requested." Vulpes said. "But there was…an inconvenience."
"Inconvenience?" Caesar questioned.
"Two people. One man, one woman. They arrived as we finished burning the town."
"And what did you do to them?"
"I let them go, so they could tell people of what happened."
"Hmmm…. Interesting. And who were these two? NCR? Fiends?"
"I do not know Caesar. The man wore a strange black armor, as well as a sword. The woman was beautiful, but otherwise looked like any other local."
"Black armor you say? Did he turn…invisible?"
"No sir. Why do you ask?"
"Some scouts have reported of the NCR looking for a man like that. They say he can disappear into thin air. They say he can't be killed." Caesar said, temper rising. Vulpes sensed it, and tried to calm him down.
"I can look for him sir." Vulpes volunteered. Caesar dismissed the issue with a wave of his hand.
"There are bigger problems."
"Sir?"
"There is something. Something that can stop our plans my dear Vulpes. And it resides in the heart of Vegas, the Strip. The Platinum Chip. This man, Benny he is called has it. But not for long. He is holding a card game at his casino. I want you to go there, undercover with a small group of the Frumentarii. Enter this "game", and when this "Benny" let's his guard down, let the whole world know of the might of the Legion."
"It will be done, my lord." Vulpes said bowing.
Beth returned back at the Lucky 38 that night, seeing Boone and Arcade sitting at a table together. Boone was messing around with his sniper rifle, while Arcade was reading a book. Beth tossed a large sack of caps on to the table. The two men stopped what they were doing and looked at her expectantly.
"10,000 caps." She said grinning. Arcade had that stupid shocked face on again.
"What did you do? Rob a casino?" Boone asked.
"I won it. Texas Hold'em at Gomorrah." Beth said. She also threw a piece of paper on the table. Boone and Arcade read it.
The Tops is hosting a Texas Hold'em game. Highstakes. Minimum buy in 10,000 caps. All are welcome to join in the game.- Benny, the Tops.
"You're joking." Arcade said.
"Hardly." Beth said. Both of the men just stared at her. "This is a perfect opportunity! We can get close to Benny, AND get more caps while we're at it."
Victor rolled up behind Beth and spoke.
"Mr. House would like to see you." He said. Beth let herself be escorted to the elevator.
"We'll see if he thinks it's a good idea." Beth told them. Half an hour later she came back holding two thumbs it. "We're good."
