Veronica was stabbing the keyboard angrily with her fingers. She was trying to access the Lucky 38's network from a computer in the cashier's office of the casino. So far, her efforts weren't turning up anything useful, but it was Boone's departure that had led to her current violent mood.
"How's it going?" Arcade resurfaced and offered the scribe a bottle of water, which she waved away.
"How could he run off like that? We need to work together or we're never going to find Layla." Veronica flexed her power fist, which creaked angrily at her.
"We're all stressed out, and he doesn't sit still in times of crisis." The doctor noticed Veronica's continued grimace and smiled at her. "Did you really think Boone was going to be much help recoding security software? He might turn something up on his own anyway."
Veronica's face softened and she nodded, trying once more to bypass the encryption. She sighed as she was locked out of the system. "Well, this one's fried… I know what we're looking for is in here somewhere. But how the hell are we going to get to it?"
Arcade looked thoughtful for a moment. "I may know someone who can help."
*.*.*
"Sierra Madre? Isn't that the casino full of monsters and old world gold? Sorry son, I don't have a clue." The King studied the man before him. Frustration seemed to seep from every pore.
Boone sighed heavily. "Thanks." He started to walk away, but the gang leader called after him.
"Where's Layla?" he asked. The King had never seen the sniper without her. He had a weak spot for the Courier, something Pacer never failed to mention when the subject came up. The younger man froze in his tracks, hands balling into fists.
"Missing," Boone answered. That hadn't been what The King was expecting. Suddenly the frustration and the tension made sense. "My last lead is the Sierra Madre."
"Wish I could help you there. As far as I know, that place doesn't exist." The gang leader hadn't meant to put it so bluntly. Boone looked back at him, his frown deepening further.
"Sure seems that way."
"Come on, don't look so blue." The King grinned at the younger man, then called over to his dog.
"Rexie!" The cyberdog leapt to his feet and padded over, tail wagging. "You're gonna go with Boone, go find Layla." The dog bounded over to the sniper. The King noticed the younger man's beret and frowned, waiting for Rex's outburst. The dog merely barked happily.
"Huh, I thought you hated hats, boy?" The King said, marveling that the dog hadn't growled at Boone.
The sniper nearly cracked a smile. "Layla convinced him a beret wasn't a hat." He scratched the dog behind the ear. "Thanks," he said to The King.
The gang leader waved him off. "Just go get her back. Things'll be too quiet around here without her."
"I will."
*.*.*
"You're fucking kidding me." Cachino figured by the face the kid was giving him that he wasn't. It didn't change matters. "No. I don't fucking know where the god damned Sierra Madre is. Why are you even asking me?"
Boone sat across from the Gomorrah's new casino boss, feeling the last trickle of his patience fading away, "You have contacts. Use them," he said tersely.
Cachino leaned back in his chair. "What's this worth to you?"
"We got you here, you owe us." The sniper's tone was getting dangerous. The older man pressed a button under the surface of his desk and leaned forward.
"Where is that little firecracker anyway? I'm starting to see why she always did the talking."
That didn't seem to calm the sniper down. Before he was able to say anything, three Omerta bouncers burst into the room.
"Ah, your escorts." Cachino grinned at the younger man, who had jumped to his feet. "Our business is finished. Why don't you just go on home?"
Boone thought about flattening the little worm, but it wouldn't do Layla any good to get himself killed. Instead he stood and left, not bothering to wait for the goons to follow.
Rex barked happily as the sniper stepped out of the casino. Boone took a few long breaths; this had been a waste of time. He gave the Lucky 38 a look before heading out of the city.
*.*.*
Veronica carefully rerouted wires into the small black box Emily Ortal had provided. According to the scientist, the Followers of the Apocalypse had been trying to get into House's network for a while. They had even considered asking The Courier for help. This little black box was their latest development, and Veronica was sure they had found the answer.
Once she got the wiring in place, the screen went blank.
"Was it supposed to do that?" Arcade said, looking over the scribe's shoulder.
"I'm not - Oh wait, it's rebooting." The screen came online again, and a simple prompt greeted them.
"Is that good?" Veronica frowned at the doctor's tone.
"I sure hope so," She started typing, hoping she'd be able to get access to a map or a search function. She cursed under her breath. This wasn't her field of expertise. She knew Arcade was a step below her on computers. It was Layla who had a knack for them. Veronica had seen the girl reprogram turrets to attack their enemies and laugh at computerized locks before quickly disabling them.
She wasn't here, and Veronica felt like it was her fault. She should have been more careful in the bunker. She should have pieced together what was happening sooner. She should have reacted faster to the gas trap. Veronica knew if the Courier could have heard her beat herself up about what had happened, or known that she felt responsible because Father Elijah had been the one to cause this, she would hit her.
It didn't make the gnawing guilt lessen. When Layla had waltzed up to her at the 188 trading post, Veronica knew she had found the perfect traveling companion. The girl just looked like the type who got into a lot of interesting trouble. The scribe hadn't been prepared for how right she was, or how dear a friend the girl would turn out to be.
Now she was missing, and Veronica wouldn't stop until she found out what had happened to her and put it right. She didn't have time to contemplate exactly what that could entail before the screen went blank again and the electrical box sparked. When it restarted this time, the original prompt was back, and the box was smoking.
"Oh. That doesn't look good," Arcade said. "Do you think you can fix it?" The scribe pulled the box away and surveyed the damage. Acrid, black smoke puffed from the device, which, under further inspection was clearly destroyed. Veronica had to keep herself from crushing the box in her mechanically-enhanced fist.
Arcade let out a sigh. "All right, we can always…"
Veronica looked up when the doctor trailed off to see Victor standing behind them.
"Now what in tarnation are you folks up to?" The robot demanded, a cross look displayed on its face monitor.
