Chapter 8: Getting to know you

Six woke with a start from her usual nightmare of being buried alive but managed to not bolt upright in bed. She yawned herself awake and stretched a bit, testing to see if the stiffness was gone from her muscles; it was. There were a few slivers of light coming through the window so she got up and geared up. When everything was snuggly in place, she headed out to the bar.

She found Boone geared up and ready to head out, sitting at the bar with an empty bowl in front of him. She grabbed a stool one away from him and ordered some sugar bombs and a fresh apple she couldn't resist. "Ready to head out?" She asked him as she finished the sugar bombs and grabbed the apple.

"Boulder City?" Boone asked.

"Yep." Six hopped off the bar stool and Boone followed suit, albeit with less hopping.

"I got your back." He said as he followed behind her. They headed out into the still cool morning. A few people were already milling about and Robert broke off a conversation with a mercenary when he saw them and rushed over.

"Hitting the old dusty trail?" Robert asked.

"Yep." Six replied as she hitched her thumbs under her backpack straps.

"Good luck then, I know you'll need it out there."

"Thanks Robert. Stay safe!" She waved and started walking away.

Boone went to follow but felt a hand on his arm. He looked at the offending hand and Robert immediately removed it. "Take care of her." Robert implored. "She's too good for this rotten wasteland."

Boone glared at the once Powder Ganger and then after a moment replied. "I got her back."

Robert seemed surprised he'd spoken but only nodded and said "That's all I could hope for." He then turned and walked away. Boone just followed after the Courier.

The morning started to heat up as they descended the hill from Mojave Outpost. Six flicked on her Pip-Boy radio to fill some of the quiet. They went around Nipton. Once on the other side of Nipton, Mr. New Vegas chimed in on the radio. "Merchants are saying that there's been little contact between traders from Nipton in recent days, causing concerns that the isolated town may be in trouble."

"Trouble is right." Six sighed as she looked back at the still burning tire fires. "I guess word hasn't gotten around that it was Legion yet."

"NCR may try to keep it quiet." Boone replied.

"Hmm… I suppose that makes sense, but word will get out eventually." Boone was quiet.

A little while later, Six tried starting a conversation again. "What's in Boulder City? Have you been there before?"

"I've been there. There isn't much left. NCR blew the place to hell after luring in the Legion during the First Battle of Hoover Dam."

"First Battle of Hoover Dam? People have mentioned a dam before. I guessed it was an electric dam. Providing power?" Six asked. Boone nodded. "When was the battle?"

"Four years ago."

Six hummed, working out the timelines. "Were you there?"

"Yes."

Six glanced at Boone. He was obviously remembering something. Something good or bad she couldn't tell. She thought about what he'd said. "Was there a Second Battle of Hoover Dam?"

"Not yet."

"Oh. I see." Was all the Courier could reply.

They continued walking east. They avoided the main road and stayed to the hills. The roads may have been easier to travel but with only two of them they would be outnumber by any bandits they met and the bandits tended to set up ambushes on the roads for caravans.

Just when they started to turn north, Boone put out a hand to stop them, but he was too late. Several Vipers sauntered out from behind the rocks in front of them; two with guns and two with melee weapons.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Started the grubby looking woman with an old varmint rifle. "A lost little NCR sheep and his whore. Don't worry NCR, my boys will take real good care of your girl." Six grunted in disgust and shifted her hand closer to her hip. "Get 'em!" At these short distances Six didn't even consider her rifle, instead quick drawing Lucky and hip firing at the leader who was still bringing the varmint rifle up to her eye. The bullet hit the leader low in the chest and the surprise and force of the impact knocked her off her feet. The other Vipers' eyes when wide; they'd barely seen the courier move. But they started charging. Boone's long gun took longer to draw, but he had it in his hands in time to deflect a knife thrust from one of the thugs and then crack him in the side of the head with the butt of the rifle. Adjusting to put two hands on her gun, Six fired again during Boone's manoeuvre. Her second bullet hit the other gun-toting Viper high in the shoulder, staggering him. Before she could fire again the remaining melee thug with a crowbar had his arms around her waist and tackled her to the ground. She hit the ground hard with an "oomph" and the larger raider landed on top of her. The blow knocked the gun from her hand and she couldn't get to the knife in her boot. A small calibre shot rang out followed closely by a larger calibre round. Straddling her, the bandit went to raise his crowbar to strike the pinned courier. Six grabbed the crowbar with both hands and pulled it against her chest. The move surprised the bandit and he struggled with her for a second before his head exploded. The body collapsed on top of her.

Six took a breath then heaved against the dead weight on top of her. She only managed to budge the body a few inches because of the odd lifting angle. She then felt the weight recede and the body was tossed aside. She looked up and saw Boone standing above her. He offered her a hand which she took and he pulled her onto her feet.

"Thanks." She looked around at the bodies and one caught her eye. "The leader." Six indicated with a nod in that direction.

"Yeah." Came Boone's reply

Six grabbed Lucky and walked over to the downed woman. The courier's hip shot hadn't been well aimed; speed had been her main concern. The bullet had punched through the Viper's chest just below the sternum. A slow and painful death... Six thought and then pulled the trigger. That's not my style. Six walked over to where the raiders had emerged from, popping around the corner with Lucky ready just in case. Behind the boulder was a small encampment. The reason they hadn't seen the raiders coming was because they hadn't been coming. Maybe they'd been having lunch or just waking up. Six laughed out loud at the thought of her luck.

She glanced over as Boone came to stand beside her. "I guess luck goes both ways, eh?" She smirked.

"Yeah." Replied Boone, more serious then she'd ever seen him.

Six considered what to say very carefully. "But we're both ok, and that's what matters."

"Yeah." Boone responded.

"And apparently, I'm fast on the draw." She shrugged as she headed over to loot the camp.

After looting what they could they continued on. As the sun started to set, the dinosaur came into view. With the dinosaur in view, Six's mind wandered to different topics and eventually put things together. "Shit. We could just avoid Novac." Six said. "But my conscience says we should warn the town about Nipton. But they may suspect one or both of us in Jeannie May's death or, hopefully, disappearance. But it's also shelter for the night and a lighter load in the morning. But it's also…" She trailed off from weighing the pros and cons. The last con being it had a lot of bad memories. She tried not to glance over at Boone.

"They should know. It's also good shelter." Boone sighed.

"You sure?" Six asked carefully. She got a glare in return. She shrugged. "Okay then. I'd say we should scout the town to make sure we're in the clear but Manny probably could have shot us by now if they knew."

By the time they got to town it was dark and quiet. Six saw No-Bark wandering around but no one else. They headed toward the motel. When they stood in the empty courtyard, Six spoke. "I've got a comfy couch in my room if you need a place to crash."

"I have a place here."

"I know." Was all Six replied as she headed up the stairs to her room. Boone didn't follow her. She opened the door to her room and found everything in its place. Even the few bottles of water and packages of food she had offered to Boone were still in place. Six remembered the running water and dropped her gear and headed for a quick, cold shower.

Boone watched the courier disappear into her room and headed to his own. He unlocked the door and went in, dropping his pack and propping his rifle up in the corner beside the bed where it always went. He looked around. The room looked the same, it felt the same. He walked over to the table and picked up the only picture he had of her. It showed the two of them, happy, on the strip not far from where they'd first met. He sat down on the bed holding the picture in his hand and stared. Damn, she was gorgeous! He thought to himself but he'd always thought that of her, every time he saw her; even when she'd wake up beside him in the morning with bed head. He smiled to himself at the thought but it didn't last. Thoughts came back to haunt him of the last time he'd seen her. The thoughts filled him with rage and it took all his control to gently place the picture frame back on the table with a shaky hand. He let his face fall into his hands. What was he still doing here? Playing at living? What was the point in even trying anymore? He'd gotten his revenge. He even had proof. There was nothing left to do. No reason to still be struggling to continue on. Except killing Legionaries. He reminded himself. But what was that really? Just something to fill the time until the rest of his punishment caught up with him. He could always just help it along though.

He withdrew his sidearm from its holster; an NCR standard issue 9mm pistol. Might as well get it over with. What was really keeping him here anyways? The Courier? She'd helped him out, gave him something to do to fill the time but she'd manage on her own. She would have died today without me. The way she insisted on doing the right thing would get her killed eventually though. The Powder Ganger was right about her; she's too good for this rotten wasteland. She'll make enemies and soon they'll be a lot of people gunning for her. Her innocence and naivety would be her downfall. He could keep helping her do good. It would at least give him something to do while he waited but what if his luck rubbed off on her? What if she got caught up in the bad things he had coming to him; like Carla. Carla was gone. If the Courier died too… or if the Legion… No! He refused to even think that. He wouldn't let that happen. Wasn't that at least a better way to die than suicide? Dying to protect something good? He looked at the gun in his hands; a soldier's gun. He was a soldier. His job was to protect people. He may have failed once already but he was still alive; he still had another chance. If he was going to die, at least he'd have some say in how it happened. He'd keep the Courier safe, goddammit, even if he had to die to do so.

He stood up and holstered his pistol. He looked around, he couldn't stay here. He was weak, too weak to deal with this. Too weak to save Carla. Maybe too weak to save the Courier, but he'd still try. He needed some sleep if he was going to watch her back and he hadn't had a good night's sleep in this room since Carla was here. He grabbed his pack and rifle and flung open the door. The courier had offered him her couch. He'd already stayed on the couch once. Out of sheer exhaustion, he'd used the room when the courier had offered it before they'd left Novac; at the time just desperate to avoid the nightmares. Today would be no different; they'd slept in the same room in Nipton. He trudged up the stairs and went to knock.

Six had dressed in a dark pair of cargo pants and an off-white tank top after her shower and now sat on the bed cross legged with an issue of Guns and Bullets in her lap as she nibbled away at some potato crisps. She was half done the magazine (Issue entitled: High calibres and how to handle them) when she heard a quiet knock at the door. She reached over and grabbed Lucky then hopped off the bed and went to the door. She unlocked it and cracked it open a few inches.

"I decided I'd take you up on that offer." Was all he said. Six opened the door the rest of the way and let him in then she closed the door and locked it behind her.

Six finished the issue of Gun and Bullets while Boone got cleaned up. She was already curled up under the threadbare blankets when Boone emerged from the bathroom. He noticed she had set a teddy bear on the nightstand leaning against the lamp. The bear had a sarsaparilla beside him and was wearing her sunglasses. He almost grinned at the sight. Almost.